*B    EbE    45E 


sD 

CO 

CM 


>- 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

PRESENTED  BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 
MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


THE 


SPORTSMAN'S 


iAND  BOOK 


CONTAINING 


RULES,  TABLES  OF  WEIGHTS  AND  MEASURES, 

CONCISE    INSTRUCTIONS    ON 

Selecting,  Caring  for  and  Handling  Guns  and  Fishing  Tackle  ; 

Dog  Breaking  ;    Shooting  on  the  Wing  ;  Hunting  Large 

Game;    Camping  Out  and  Catnp   Cooking;  Miscella- 

neous Recipes  ;  How  to  Skin  and  Prepare  Bird 

and  Animal  Skins  for  Specimens  ;  and  Many 

OtJier   Hints   and    Instructions     Use- 

ful to   Beginners. 


COL.    HORACE     PARK. 


CINCINNATI  : 

ROBERT  CLARKE  &  Co. 

_18SG. 


COPYRIGHTED: 

COL.    HORACE    PARK, 
L88& 


Better  to  hunt  in  fields  for  health  imhou^ht, 
Than  fee  the  doctor  for  a  nauseous  draught, 
The  wise  for  cure  on  exercise  depend  ; 
God  never  made  his  work  for  man  to  mend. 

— Dry  dm. 

This,  on  the  face  of  it,  is  a  "hook  of  reference  and 
suggestions  for  the  beginner.  It  is  written  for  the  young 
sportsman,  not  the  old  and  experienced.  Its  object  is  not 
to  advance  new  theories  by  excursions  to  debatable  grounds, 
but  to  present  the  results  of  actual  experiments,  as  well  as 
facts  established  by  more  than  thirty  years'  experience, 
together  with  admitted  truths,  all  in  a  plain  form.  Details 
may  appear  somewhat  dull,  but  clearness  can  not  be 
accomplished  by  any  other  method. 

The  typographical  arrangement  of  the  book  may 
appear  somewhat  fragmentary  and  broken.  I  have  drawn 
from  scientific  reports,  and  have  quoted  the  results  of  the 
experiments  of  reliable  men  and  authors,  for  which  due 
credit  has  been  given. 

The  tables  of  weights  and  measures,  etc.,  will  certainly 
be  appreciated  for  reference.  I  believe  the  careful  reader 
will  find  the  subject  throughout,  brought  up  to  the  latest 
clearly  ascertained  results,  while  in  some  directions  a 

positive  advance  has  been  made. 

I  lo RACK   PARK. 


CONTENTS. 


Animals,  How  to  Skin  and  Preserve no 

Army  Rations 74 

Baggage 68 

Birds,  How  to  Skin 101 

Bird  Skins,  How  to  Preserve 104 

Birds,  Speed  of  Flight 36 

Bore  of  Shotguns    41 

Brass  and  Paper  Shot  Shell 22 

Camp  Chest 77 

Camp  Cooking 77 

Camp   Fire 72 

Camping  Out 67 

Camp  Outfit 68 

Camping  Parties 69 

Choke    Bore 40 

Choice  of  Hunting  Rifle 44 

Colic,  How  to  Cure 97 

Distemper  Cure" 94 

Dogs,  Care  of, 117 

Choice  of 1 16 

Training 118 

Fire  Arms 14 

Fish,  How  to  Preserve 91 

Fish  Lines  and  Leaders,  How  to  Color 93. 

Fishing  with  Hook  and  Line 90 

Guns,  Best  for  all  Purposes 40 

Choke-boring 40 

Care  of  and  Cleaning 59 

Name  of  Parts 30 

Standard  of  Bore 41 

M313028 


Gun  Barrels,  Boring 19 

How  Made 16 

Rust  Spots 62 

Gun  Implements 22 

Gunpowder  Composition 10 

Hunting   Large  Game 51 

Lakes,  Size  of 98 

Landmarks 52 

Lost  in  the  Woods 54 

Medical  Department 89 

Miscellaneous  Recipes 93 

Missfire,  Cause  and  Cure 42 

Mosquito  and  Gnat  Bites 93 

Pack  Animals : 88 

Pack  Mules 83 

Pack  Saddle 83 

Percussion  Caps 1 1 

Powder,  Number  of  Shell  one  pound  will  load 10 

Primers,  List  of. 12 

Riding  Animals 88 

Saddle,  Choice  of 89 

Shot,  Number  of  Shell  one  pound  will  load 10 

Shot,  Number  of  Pellets  to  the  ounce n 

Snell,  Snood,  Gimp 96 

Strychnine  Antidote 94 

Varnish  for  Joint  Rods 93 

Varnish  for  Gun  Stock 93 

Velocity  of  Shot 36 


Millimeter.  . 

Centimeter. 

Decimeter.  . 

Dekameter. 
Meter.  . 

Hectometer 

o* 
q 
rt> 
n> 

Myriameter. 

g 

B 

ft 

3 

o" 

3 

o| 

H 
ej 

SI- 

- 

o 

0 

O 

O 

M 

P 

0 

P 

P 

p 

0 

0 

0 

o 

§ 

0 

3 

rt> 

3 

f  ! 

ft 

3 

rt> 

3 

n 

CD 

!    i 

3 

n 
>-« 

ft 

Crt 

1 

— 

CO 

I 

CO 

c 

co       c 

5    | 

'1         -T 

CO 
00 

I 

CO 

to 

CO 

w 

d 

3" 

n" 

5' 

5' 

3-         3* 

r? 

3 

3. 

EL 

3- 

3" 

S-    ( 

3-           & 

** 

rT 

3 

V3 

0               C/3 

3 

? 

ST 

a 

3 

5" 

C 

0 

3" 

c/>  ^  <: 

0  w  5 

v  w 

tn  ^  Q 

1  g  ffi 
S  §  51 


SI'OK  PSMAN'S    HAM)    HOOK. 


1 

.      5/5 

(A     (U 

D 

_G 

-^  ^c 

«    C 

>..£ 

o>   «u 

C3 

£ 
13 

^:  »-  % 

qj     03     03 
£     3     3 

03      t/3     c« 

> 

*3 

r^  ^-  10 

cr 

W 

•'sTrH   t—l 

W3     (« 

U    h    IM 

jy     (U     <U 

<U     0>     4J 

.6  S  S 

£ 

JJ  SJ  2i 

U 
j3 

g  |  *    • 

13 

?y? 

T3 
P 

§O  r-t 
O 

rt 

0  ^ 

c« 

C 

.2 

—  :  —  r~:  — 

rt 

c 

a 

o 

d 

0) 

Q 

qj         oJ 

5        5 

g    4J    fi 

W 

D 
o 

o 

k  X 

3 
w 


u 


t-  t-  i-  t^  10  :»  t^ 


OO  <NI  OO  GO  N  Jl  f 

CO     •  OS  O  O  'i 
^    ^   •  rH  CO 
^ 


O  O  O  rH  JO  |0  (O 


^     O  rH 


MEASURES    AND    WEIGHTS. 


5> 

f} 

a 

O 

a 

ffi 

p^j 

s' 

0 

g 

crq' 

"H 

p 

3 
Orq' 
P 

ecigram  .  , 

p 

3 

p 

crq 
p 

fD 
0 

4 

i 

1 

P  • 

o 

yriagram  , 

S. 
3" 

£ 

0 

P 

0 

3 

5 

3 

9 

0* 

P 

O 

fD 

0 

x 

»—  i 

0 

02 

3* 
P 

H 

^  o 

sh 

o| 

H 

0|M 

cj 

* 

h-  1 

o 

M 

o 

§ 

§ 

1 

I 

p^ 

0       i 
3 

P 

0 

sh  . 

M 

O 

o 

I—* 

sj 

3 
<I      i 

0 

0 

o 

0 

0 

0 

0 

o 

r 

K  . 

0 

0 

OT      3" 

P 

cr 

p 

2t 

O 

? 

» 

0 

ST. 

S  0 

n» 

en 

o* 

o' 

0* 

0*  ' 

o' 

p    "*> 

3, 

o 

0 

cr1 

0 

n> 

3 

0 

3 

S" 

1 

3 

CD 

3*0. 

3 

3 

o 

3 

3 

? 

n> 
ji 

3  3 

0 

n> 

nT 

nT 

3    • 

% 

n> 

3  ° 

. 

3 

? 

! 

^  PH 

CO 

to 

to 

"  '  ! 
W 

b 

t—  * 

S 

1 

4- 
CO 

CO 
Or 

to 

to 

o 

b 

p 

to 

o 

> 

"§ 

— 

CO 

to 

to 

~-J 

!*»• 

'Oi 

Gi 

05 

01 

^  2. 

P_ 

CD     ^t 

nT 

Orq 

crq 

crq 

°5 

0 

o 

13 

"T3 

^d 

T3 

crq*  ^ 

3 

"-« 

P 

P 

p_ 

0 
3 

0 
3 

0 
0 

0 

0 

o 

0 

O 

0 

r*  o 

en 

5* 

5' 

3" 

en 

3' 

n 
o 

0 

8 

3 

O- 
en 

3 

a. 

3 

CL 

en 

3 
g- 

en' 

5" 
a 

? 

8  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

For  measuring  surfaces  the  square  Dekameter  is  used 
under  the  term  ARC;  the  Hectare  or  100  ares  is  equal  to 
about  2  acres. 

The  unit  of  capacity  is  the  cubic  decimeter  or  LITER, 
and  the  series  of  measures  is  formed  in  the  same  way  as  in 
the  case  of  the  table  of  lengths. 

The  cubic  meter  is  the  unit  of  measure  for  solid  bodies, 
and  is  termed  STERE. 

The  unit  of  weight  is  the  GRAMME,  which  is  the  weight 
of  one  cubic  centimeter  of  pure  water  weighed  in  a  vacuum 
at  the  temperature  of  4°  Centigrade  or  39°. 2  Fahrenheit, 
which  is  about  the  temperature  of  maximum  density. 

In  practice,  the  term  cubic  centimeter  abbreviated  C. 
C.,  is  used  instead  of  milliliter,  and  cubic  meter  instead  of 
kilolitre. 


MEASURES    AND    WEIGHTS. 


WBICHTT. 

The  standard  avoirdupois  pound  is  the  weight  of 
27.7015  cubic  inches  of  distilled  water  weighed  in  air  at 
39°.83,  the  barometer  at  30  inches. 

A  cubic  inch  of  water  weighs  252.6937  grains. 
AVOIRDUPOIS. 


16  drachms I  ounce. 

16  ounces 1  pound. 

112  pounds 1  cwt. 

20  cwt I  ton. 


Drachms.  Ounces.   Pounds. 

256          

28672  1792       

573440  35840            2240 


1   pound=14  oz.  11  pwts.  16    grs.  troy,  or  7000  grains. 
1   ounce=18  dwts,  5.5  grains  troy  or  437.5  grains. 

TROY. 

24  grains 1  dwt.  Grains.  Dwt. 

20  dwt 1  ounce.  480  

12  ounces 1  pound.  5760  240 

7000      troy  grains 1  Ib.   avoirdupois. 

437.5  troy  grains 1  oz.  " . 

175      troy  pounds, 144  Ibs  " 

175      troy  ounces , 192  oz.  " 

1      troy  pound ,822857  Ib. 

1      avoirdupois  pound 1.21578  Ibs.  troy. 

APOTHECARIES. 
20  grains 1  scruple. 

3  scruples 1  drachm. 

8  drachms 1  ounce. 

12  ounces 1  pound. 

45  drops 1  teaspoonful  or  a  fluid  drachm. 

2  tablespoonfuls 1  ounce. 

The  pounds  ounce  and  grain  are  the  same  as  in  troy 
weight. 


10 


SPORTSMAN'S   HAND  BOOK. 


Gunpowder. — The  following  table  shows  the  composi- 
tion of  the  different  gunpowders: 


Mills. 

Niter. 

Charcoal. 

Saltpeter. 

Royal  Waltham  Aboy.. 
France  National  Mills  .  . 
French  Sporting  

7500 
7500 

7800 

1500 
1250 
1200 

1000 
1250 
1000 

French  Mining  

(3500 

1500 

2000 

USA           .          ... 

7500 

1250 

1250 

Prussia  ,  

7500 

1350 

1150 

7300 

1350 

1263 

Austria    (musket)  

72QO 

1700 

1600 

7647 

1078 

1275 

Sweden            .         .  . 

7600 

1500 

900 

Switzerland  

7600 

1400 

1000 

7500 

1440 

990 

Theoretical  Powder  . 

7500 

1323 

1177 

Gunpowder  is  distinguished  as  musket,  mortar,  cannon, 
mammoth  and  sporting. 

.    Number  of  cartridges  one    pound  of  powder  will  load: 
with      5       drachms      1       pound      will      load      51      shell 


4 

"       3 
><       2 
th       1        ounce 

"         1;M$           " 
"         l#           " 

«       2 

64 
73 

85 
M      102 

«      128 

SHOT. 

1       pound      will      load       16 

«                «                 «                it            I4  x 

12  x 
11  x 
10  x 
9  x 
9 

g 

shell 

MEASURES    AND    WEIGHTS. 

Number  of  shot  pellets  each  size  in  one  ounce: 


11 


Leroy's. 

Tatham's. 

Chicago. 

English. 

N<3.  10 

822 

848 

850 

1700 

"   9 

560 

563 

596 

1000 

"   8 

375      399 

434 

605 

"   7  '     -278      291 

323 

350 

"   6      209      218 

216       270 

"   5 

149      168 

172 

220 

"   4 

121 

132 

146  . 

180 

"   3 

98 

106 

118 

130 

"   2 

82 

86 

92       110 

"   1 

60 

71 

•  75        80 

Percussion  caps  are  numbered  from  5  to  14.  The  sizes 
run  with  the  numbers  from  5  small  to  14  large.  Larger  than 
14  are  musket.  There  is  no  standard  size  to  the  grain  of 
powder.  Each  mill  make  their  own  sized  grains.  When 
numbered  they  usually  run  from  I  fine  to  6  coarse.  When 
Bettered,  from  extra  fine,  Fg,  IFfif  to  IIFg  coarse. 

For  shotguns  No.  3  or  FFg  gives  the  highest  velocity 
and  best  penetration,  with  the  same  amount.  The  recoil  is 
slightly  greater  than  coarser. 

Restoring  Unserviceable  Powder. — When  powder  has 
been  damaged  by  being  stored  in  damp  places,  it  loses  its 
strength  and  requires  to  be  worked  over.  If  the  .quantity 
of  water  absorbed  does  not  exceed  7  per  cent,  it  is  sufficient, 
if  it  is  dried,  to  restore  it  to  service.  This  is  done  by 
exposing  it  to  the  sun. 

When  powder  has  absorbed  more  than  7  per  cent,  of 
water  it  is  worthless,  unless  worked  over  at  some  powder 
mill. 


12  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

SHELL  PRIMERS. 

From  the  fact  that  there  is  quite  a  number  of  different 
sizes  and  kinds  of  primers,  it  is  well  to  remember  the  num- 
ber or  name  on  the  box  to  avoid  confusion  when  purchas- 
ing. A  great  many  men  go  to  a  gun-store  and  inquire  for 
Primers  for  No.  12  shell,  or  No.  10  shell.  The  size  of  the 
shell  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  size  or  kind  of  primer.  All 
,  that  is  necessary  is  to  remember  the  name  of  the  primers  on 
the  box  you  have  used. 

LIST  OF  THE    DIFFERENT  PRIMERS. 

No.  0  PRIMERS— COPPER. 

for  S.  &  W.,  and  Colt's  S.  A.  &  D.  A.  32,  38,  41,  and 
other  small  caliber  pistols,  using  central  fire  ammunition. 

No.  1  PRIMERS— COPPER. 

For  44  M.  &  H.,  44  Webley,  44  Bulldog,  45  S.  &  W., 
and  45  Webley  pistol  cartridges;  32,  38,  and  44  Winchester, 
Ballard,  Wesson's  and  Colt's  rifle  cartridges. 

No.   \Yi   PRIMERS — BRASS, 

Are  the  same  size  as  No.  I,  but  less  sensitive;  will  fit  same 
shell  as  No.  I,  and  are  better  for  guns  with  very  strong 
mainsprings,  as  they  are  harder  and  the  plunger  will  not 
cut  through. 

No.  2  PRIMERS— COPPFR. 

For  paper  and  metallic  shot  shells,  44  Russian,  44  and  45 
Colt's  pistols,  and  other  shells  using  No.  2  primers. 

No.  2j£  PRIMERS— BRASS. 

Diameter  and  depth  same  as  No.  2,  but  less  sensitive; 
used  usually  in  military  cartridges,  but  will  fit  same  as  No. 
2.  Better  for  guns  with  very  strong  mainsprings. 


SHELL    PRIMERS.  13 

The  following  primers  are  known  by  name  as  well  as 
number.  All  others,  whether  by  the  same  maker  or  not, 
the  same  numbers  are  the  same  size: 

Berdan  No.  I,  military  cartridges. 

Berdan  No.  il/2  same  size  of  No.  I — but  more  sensitive 
— for  brass  shot  shell. 

Berdan  No.  2  for  brass  shot  shell. 

Orcutt  for  old  style  paper  shot  shell. 

Breech-loading  shell  caps,  or  percussion  primers,  are 
for  Sturtevant  brass  shot  shell. 

NOTE — Berdan  primers  can  be  used  only  on  shell  especially 
made  for  them. 


14  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

FIRE -ARMS. 

It  is  now  a  little  over  four  hundred  years  since  fire- 
arms were  first  invented,  and  from  the  period  of  their  first  in- 
ception to  the  present  time  money  has  been  expended  to 
almost  an  unlimited  degree,  and  the  brains  of  many,  many  ' 
men,  have  been  racked  in  perfecting  the  crude  results  of  first 
experiments  and  in  bringing  before  the  public  at  the  pres- 
ent time  the  high  degree  of  attainment  wrought  in  their  per- 
fection as  found  in  the  hammerless  breech-loading  shot-guns 
of  to-day. 

About  the  first  gun  that  we  have  any  account  of  was 
called  the  "Bombard,"  which  dates  back  to  about  the  year 
1450.  This  gun  was  an  unwieldy,  uncouth  mass  of  iron, 
weighing  eighty  pounds  or  over,  and  was  fired  by  using  a 
lighted  stick.  The  first  shoulder  gun,  or  a  gun  with  a 
stock,  called  an  "Arquebus,"  was  brought  into  notice  about 
the  year  1468.  This  was  a  very  awkward  arm,  and  could 
not  be  introduced  in  nor  used  by  the  armies  of  that  period, 
as  they  were  exceedingly  heavy,  requiring  several  men  to 
handle  them,  and  were  of  little  practical  use-  they  were 
able  to  fire  it  but  about  eight  times  in  twenty-four  hours  by 
hard  work — the  soldiers  at  that  time  much  preferring  their 
bows  and  arrows  or  cross-bows,  and  their  cumbersome  stone- 
throwing  catapult.  The  next  step  forward  was  the  inven- 
tion and  attempted  introduction  of  an  improvement  by  the 
addition  of  a  contrivance  called  a  v/heel  lock,  at  Nurem- 
berg, in  1630,  answering  the  purposes  of  ignition,  for  which 
it  was  intended,  very  poorly.  This  gave  way  to  the  flint 
lock,  which,  in  its  perfected  form,  was  used  by  our  fore- 
fathers who  "fit  in  the  Revolution." 

The  greatest  stride  of  progress  towards  making  a  fire- 
arm practical  (with  due  respect  to  our  ancient  flint  lock)' 
was  the  invention  of  the  percussion  cap,  in  1818. 


FIRE-ARMS.  15 

Few  realize  the  wonderful  progress  made  in  the  last  few 
years  in  fire-arms.  For  a  moment  look  back  but  a  short 
time  at  the  arms  used  by  the  BOYS  in  the  field,  and  compare 
them  with  the  present.  Think  of  the  roll  of  paper  filled 
with  powder  and  ball,  and  the  necessity  of  biting  off  the 
end  of  the  paper  before  turning  the  powder  in  the  muzzle 
of  the  barrel,  then  ramming  down  the  ball,  and  finally  put- 
ting on  a  cap,  and  compare  it  with  the  quick  movement  of 
simply  inserting  a  shell,  all  ready  to  be  discharged,  in  the 
breech  of  the  gun,  as  at  present,  and  you  will  then  realize 
the  degree  of  improvement  that  has  been  brought  forward. 

The  most  recent  invention  is  a  gun  without  visible 
hammers.  The  appearance  is  very  handsome,  though  some- 
what peculiar  looking,  owing  to  the  absence  of  hammers 
where  we  are  accustomed  to  see  them,  but  familiarity  will 
soon  overcome  whatever  little  objection  this  may  raise  in 
the  mind  of  anyone.  The  hammers  proper  are  arranged 
in  a  very  substantial  and  at  the  same  time  simple  manner, 
on  the  inside  of  the  stock,  corresponding  to  the  location  of 
the  locks  on  guns  in  general  use.  They  are  so  constructed  that 
throwing  up  the  barrels  for  trTe-  purpose  of  introducing  a 
shell,  cocks  both  barrels,  at  the  same  time  shifts  an  auto- 
matic safety,  catch  into  a  position  firmly  locking  the  trig- 
gers, rendering  the  gun  safe  from  an  accidental  discharge. 
The  safety  catch  is  situated  on  the  grip  near  the  position  of 
the  thumb.  Before  the  gun  can  be  discharged  the  safety 
catch  must  be  shoved  a  little  forward,  which  is  easily  done 
by  a  slight  motion  of  the  thumb;  then  the  gun  is  discharged 
like  other  guns,  by  simply  pulling  the  triggers.  The  ham- 
merless  gun  is  fast  gaining  favor  with  many  sportsmen,  but 
at  present  they  range  at  too  high  prices  to  come  within  the 
means  of  the  masses. 

Although  it  is  difficult  to  see  where  there  can  be  more 
room  fot  improvement  in  fire-arms,  or  breech-loading  shot- 
guns in  particular,  still  time  will  tell,  and  the  rapid  strides 
that  have  been  made  in  the  last  few  years  leads  to  the  be- 
lief that  "the  end  is  not  yet." 


SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 


There  is  no  part  of  a  gun,  except  the  barrel,  but  what 
can  be  made  by  hand  by  any  really  first-class  gunsmith. 
Gun  barrels  are  made  at  regular  factories  by  mechanics 
called  barrel-makers.  A  very  clear  idea  can  be  had  from 
the  following  paper  published  in  the  Scientific  American 
May  II,  1872.  It  is  copied  in  full  and  will  be  found  quite 
interesting,  as  so  little  is  known  by  the  masses  concerning 
the  manner,  or  the  material  used  in  their  manufacture: 

BIRMINGHAM     GUN    MAKERS'  AND    INVENTORS'     CLUB. 

At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  above  club,  according  to 
the  Mechanics*  Magazine,  Mr.  Samuel  Smith,  of  Weaman 
street,  Birmingham,  gun  barrel  maker,  read  a  paper  on  the 
manufacture  of  gun  barrels,  of  which  the  following  is  an 
abstract: 

The  material  used  for  gun  barrels  was  mostly  charcoal 
iron.  For  plain  and  figured  barrels,  at  the  date  of  which  I 
am  speaking  —  namely,  1793  —  the  iron  used  was  stub,  stub 
twist,  wire  twist,  and  Damascus.  Stub  twist  was  first  made 
as  plain  stub,  but,  instead  of  being  hammered  into  a 
"skelp"  or  flat  plate,  it  was  drawn  into  a  strip,  coiled 
around  a  mandrel,  and  welded  in  the  usual  way.  Stub  twist 
is  now  made  of  old  horseshoe  nails  and  steel  cuttings,  about 
two  inches  long,  one-quarter  inch  in  breadth,  and  the  same 
in  thickness.  The  two  are  mixed  up  together  and  "  balled  " 
in  a  furnace,  and  the  bloom  drawn  out  under  the  forge 
hammer.  It  is  then  rolled  into  a  strip,  coiled  round  a  man- 
drel, and  welded  as  before.  If  the  balls  are  very  large,  or 
the  stubs  or  steel  of  inferior  quality,  the  iron  will  not  be 
good.  Plain  stub  barrels  were  made  of  the  same  iron, 
forged  into  a  skelp,  and  welded  longitudinally. 


GUN    BARRELS.  17 

Damascus  and  wire  twist  are  now  made  by  "  piling  " 
plates  of  iron  and  steel  alternately.  The  plates  are  about 
three  inches  broad  and  a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick.  From 
sixteen  to  twenty  are  piled  on  top  of  each  other;  they  are 
then  placed  in  a  furnace  and  raised  to  a  welding  heat, 
drawn  down  under  a  forge  hammer,  and  rolled  into  square 
rods,  3-8,  7-16,  1-2  and  9-i6-inch,  according  to  the  size  of 
the  barrels  required.  The  wire  twist  is  rolled  so  as  to  show 
the  edges  of  the  different  plates  on  the  flat  of  the  strip,  so 
that  when  it  is  welded  together  it  looks  like  a  coil  of  wire 
from  one  end  of  the  barrel  to  the  other.  The  Damascus  is 
rolled  into  square  rods;  these  are  cut  into  suitable  lengths, 
heated  white  hot,  and  twisted  until  they  become  round  like 
a  screw.  Two  or  three  of  these  are  welded  together,  and 
then  rolled  down  to  rods  of  the  size  required.  These  are 
then  coiled  round  a  mandrel  and  welded  in  the  usual  way. 

There  is  another  iron,  called  silver  steel.  It  was  first 
made  about  forty  years  ago,  I  believe,  by  Mr.  Whitehouse, 
of  Wednesbury,  by  laminating  Swedish  iron  and  steel,  like 
Damascus,  but  not  with  so  many  layers.  It  is  very  good. 
The  figure  is  not  much  better  than  the  iron  that  is 
now  called  single  iron  Damascus,  but  it  was  a  very 
strong  iron.  The  silver  steel  that  is  now  made  is  rolled  into 
a  square  of  7-16  inch,  and  worked  like  Damascus.  Two 
rods  are  welded  together  and  rolled  down  to  the  size  re- 
quired, and  welded  in  the  same  way  as  other  twisted  bar- 
rels. This  iron  is  now  made  both  at  Adams'  and  J.  Clive's. 
There  is  not  so  much  used  as  formerly. 

About  forty-five  years  ago  J.  Clive  began  to  make  iron 
for  gun  barrels,  and  the  best  iron  is  now  made  by  Mr.  G. 
Adams  and  J.  Clive,  who  may  be  said  to  be  indeed  the 
only  makers  of  "best  twist  "  gun  iron.  The  iron  now  in 
use  is  of  six  qualities — 1st,  skelp  twist,  price  2d.  per  Ib. ; 
2d,  iron  twist,  3d.  per  Ib. ;  3d,  fourpenny  stub,  4d.  per  Ib. ; 


18  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

4th,  fivepenny  stub,  5<i.  per  lb.;  5th,  silver  steel,  yd.  per 
ft). ;  6th,  Damascus,  yd.  per  ft).  No.  2  is  twisted  into  a 
screw,  like  Damascus,  and  is  called  iron  Damascus.  This 
is  worked  in  single  rod  and  double  rod — that  is,  two  rods 
put  together  and  rolled  into  a  strip.  The  same  is  done  with 
fourpenny  and  fivepenny  stub,  and  the  result  is  called  stub 
Damascus,  but  the  cheap  guns  are  chiefly  made  of  the  iron 
Damascus.  This  is  the  cheapest  figured  iron.  It  contains 
no  steel,  being  generally  made  of  waste  screws  mixed  with 
other  scrap.  It  requires  experience  to  distinguish  it  from 
the  true  steel  Damascus. 

Welding:  Best  barrels  are  welded  by  coiling  the  strip 
round  a  mandrel,  and  then  heating  it  to  a  welding  heat  in  a 
smith's  fire;  it  is  then  taken  out  and  jumped  up  on  an  iron 
plate  on  the  floor,  then  put  in  a  swage  with  a  "  stamp  "  or 
mandrel  inside,  and  hammered  down.  About  three  inches 
are  welded  at  a  time.  Here  I  may  observe  that  there  are 
very  few  welders  who  use  the  "stamp"  except  for  a  few 
inches  at  each  end;  but  best  barrels  ought  to  be  welded  on 
a  stamp  throughout. 

History  of  gun  iron:  Mr.  R.  Adams  began  to  make 
twist  iron  about  the  year  1815.  He  was  before  that  time  a 
tilter  of  barrel  skelps  or  plates  for  making  plain  iron  barrels. 
At  that  time  a  great  deal  of  iron  was  made  from  swafl  or 
filings,  which  were  first  washed  and  then  mixed  with  scrap, 
made  into  a  ball,  and  welded  in  a  smith's  forge;  this  was 
called  "  swaff  ball  drawing."  It  made  very  good  iron,  and 
was  used  by  lock  forgers,  breech  forgers,  and  occasionally 
made  into  barrels  for  fowling  pieces.  In  the  early  time  of 
the  barrel  trade,  there  were  a  number  of  small  forges  for 
making  barrel  skelps  by  tilting >  one  in  particular  was  at 
Wednesbury  Bridge,  and  here  Mr.  R.  Adams,  above  men- 
tioned, worked;  and  there  is  no  doubt  he  saw  what  the 
trade  required.  At  the  close  of  the  French  war  he  began 


(H'N    HARRKI.S.  19 

to  make  twist  iron  as  a  trade.  Before  this  time  it  had  been 
made  at  various  forges,  but  no  one  made  a  specialty  of  this 
kind  of  iron.  Mr.  Adams  continued  working  at  Wednes- 
bury  till  unfortunately  killed  by  the  bursting  of  a  boiler, 
after  which  Mr.  G.  Adams  took  up  the  business  and  contin- 
ues to  make  twist  gun  iron  at  his  new  works,  in  Church 
Lane,  West  Bromwich,  up  to  the  present  day. 

Boring:  After  the  barrels  are  welded,  they  go  to  the 
mill.  They  are  first  rough  bored.  This  is  done  by  fasten- 
ing them  in  a  socket  or  holder;  the  "bit"  is  a  square  steel 
"rimer,''  of  suitable  length,  running  at  about  500  revolu- 
tions per  minute,  which  is  forced  through  the  barrel.  The 
fine  borer  then  examines  the  barrel,  "sets"  or  straightens 
it,  and  then  it  is  "spilled  up,"  a  process  the  same  as  rough 
boring,  except  that  the  bit  does  not  cut  on  all  the  edges;  it 
has  a  "spill,"  or  piece  of  oak  wood,  put  on  one  side,  which 
causes  it  to  cut  much  more  evenly.  The  workman  then 
"sets"  the  barrel  and  finishes  the  boring,  which  is  done  at 
a  speed  of  seventy  to  eighty  revolutions  per  minute.  The 
bit  only  cuts  on  one  edge,  which  is  left  sharp,  and  a  deal 
spill  is  used,  packed  up  with  strips  of  paper  as  the  boring 
proceeds.  The  barrel  is  examined  and  "set"  several  times 
during  the  operation.  The  setting  is  done  by  the  shade  or 
reflection,  down  the  inside  of  the  barrel,  from  the  top  of 
the  window. 

It  is  an  art  that  can  only  be  acquired  by  long  practice 
and  perseverance.  Some  men  have  worked  at  the  trade  all 
their  lives,  and  have  never  learned  to  set  a  barrel  correctly. 
The  same  process  is  used  for  sporting  and  military  barrels 
up  to  the  fine  boring.  After  fine  boring,  the  military  bar- 
rels are  turned,  or  stripped  as  it  is  called,  which  is  done  by 
a  self-acting  slide  lathe,  which  takes  off  the  thick  side,  if 
they  have  any.  The  grinder  then  finishes  them  to  the  gage. 
The  history  of  boring  and  setting  I  cannot  attempt  to  state; 


20  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

but  setting,  I  think,  does  not  go  back  much  more  than  one 
hundred  years.  My  father  began  to  work  as  a  fine  borer  in 
the  year  1793.  Setting  was  known  then,  but  not  generally. 
He  had  to  pay  for  the  secret.  According  to  my  father,  a 
man  named  P.  Parsons  was  the  first  to  set  barrels  that  he 
had  heard  of.  He  worked  at  Duddeston  Mill,  being  what 
was  called  a  "best  workman  "  at  sporting  barrels.  This 
Mr.  Parsons  used  at  first,  for  the  purpose  of  setting,  a 
string  or  wire  which  was  drawn  tight  by  a  bow,  or  other- 
wise, and  applied  to  the  inside  of  the  barrel.  By  this  means 
he  discovered  the  crooks,  and  then  corrected  them  with  a 
hammer.  The  process  of  fine  boring  is  the  same  now  as  it 
was  in  1793;  that  is,  it  is  done  with  a  square  bit,  but  only 
two  edges  cut,  and  only  one  at  a  time.  The  advantage  of 
taking  off  the  edges  was  said  to  be  discovered  about  1790, 
by  Mr.  Beesley,  and  this  was  kept  a  secret  among  good  work- 
men for  a  long  time.  I  think  we  may  be  sure  that  boring 
and  setting  had  not  attained  their  present  perfection  until 
the  beginning  of  the  present  century. 

In  the  year  1787  there  were  twenty-seven  gun-makers  in 
Birmingham,  and  barrels  were  made,  bored  and  ground  at 
water  mills  all  round  the  town.  Such  mills  still  exist, 
chiefly  in  the  neighborhood  of  Hales  Owen,  where  large 
numbers  of  barrels  are  now  made.  I  have  not  touched  on 
the  subject  of  rolled  barrels,  which  are  chiefly  used  for  mili- 
tary fire-arms  and  the  commoner  sort  of  sporting  guns.  The 
rolling  of  barrels  from  short  taper  skelps,  a  foot  or  more  in 
length,  is  comparatively  a  recent  process.  The  barrel  is 
drawn  over  an  oval  headed  mandrel,  so  fixed  that  its  head 
is  immediately  between  the  grooves  of  the  upper  and  under 
roll.  These  grooves  are  of  a  shape  corresponding  to  the 
outline  of  the  barrel.  Of  late  years,  steel  barrels  have  come 
very  much  into  use  for  rifles,  but  to  a  very  small  extent  for 
sporting  guns  as^well,  the  want  of  "  figure"  operating  much 


(il'N    BARRELS. 


21 


against  them.  Steel  rifle  barrels  are  sometimes  drilled  out 
of  a  solid  bar,  which  must  be  "  set"  from  time  to  time,  as 
the  drill  is  certain  to  run  out.  As  there  is  usually  more  to 
turn,  off  one  side,  they  are  generally  of  unequal  hardness, 
and  is  a  difficult  matter  to  keep  them  straight.  Steel  barrels 
are  now  usually  rolled  from  twelve  to  fifteen-inch  drilled 
blanks,  the  hole  in  which  is  much  larger  than  the  intended 
bore.  The  punching  of  shorter  blanks,  which  were  after- 
wards rolled  out  into  a  'barrel  by  two  rollings,  constituting 
the  patent  of  Deakin  and  Johnson,  appears  now  to  be  dis- 
continued, though  very  good  barrels  were  made  by  the 
process." 

The  reading  of  Mr.  Smith's  paper  was  accompanied  by 
practical  illustrations  of  the  method  "shading"  barrels, 
or  detecting  internal  or  external  irregularities.  Barrels, 
straight  and  bent,  were  supported  at  each  end,  and  Mr.  Smith 
explained  the  entire  process,  which  has  been  kept  very  much 
as  a  secret  by  the  very  few  who  really  understand  it.  So 
delicate  is  this  test  that  the  distortion,  produced  by  warming 
one  side  of  the  barrel  with  a  common  candle,  was  distinctly 
perceptible.  Independently  of  its  practical  utility,  the 
"  shading  "  of  a  gun  barrel  is  an  exceedingly  interesting 
optical  problem,  which  has  never  yet  been  investigated. 


'2'2  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  HOOK. 

BRASS  AND   PAPER  SHOT  SHELL. 

The  question  which  gives  the  best  results,  brass  or 
paper  shell,  is  a  disputed  one;  both  have  firm  advocates. 
This  is  especially  referred  to  in  another  place.  Brass  shell 
as  well  as  paper,  using  No.  2  primers,  are  best.  No.  2 
primers  are  fitted  with  a  piece  of  nicked  brass,  inside  the 
primer,  called  the  anvil.  This  anvil  receives  the  blow  from 
the  plunger,  thus  protecting  the  shell  from  being  damaged 
from  repeated  blows  of  the  plunger,  these  being  renewed 
every  time  the  shells  are  recapped. 

Great  care  must  be  used  in  loading  shell  to  insure  uni- 
formity. The  powder  and  shot  measure  should  be  "struck  " 
off  every  time.  The  best  arrangement  for  loading  shell, 
paper,  or  brass,  is  a  tool  called  the  "  Barclay  loader,"  which 
consists  of  a  brass  tube  just  fitting  the  outside  of  the  shell. 
The  loading  tube  is  double  at  the  upper  end;  the  inside  tube 
is  split  in  four  places,  making  a  kind  of  a  spring.  When  a 
shell  is  inserted  for  loading  the  inside  tube  enters  the  inside 
of  the  shell,  which  guide  the  wads  smoothly  into  the  shell. 
In  reloading  shell,  be  sure  to  recap  before  attempting  to 
reload;  don't  attempt  to  uncap  'or  recap  a  loaded  shell. 
With  this  loading  tube  there  is  a  rammer  and  a  loading 
block;  this  block  is  counter-bored  to  fit  the  head  of  the 
shell.  There  is  also  a  hole  entirely  through  the  center  of 
the  block  to  insure  safety  from  explosions  of  the  primer 
while  ramming  in  the  wads.  One  objection  to  the  use  of 
brass  shells  is  the  tendency  to  expand  by  use,  rendering 
them  tight  in  the  gun-chamber,  and  hard  to  extract.  This 
can  be  almost  entirely  avoided  by  using  light  charges  of 
powder  in  new  shell  for  three  our  four  times  and  keeping 
the  shell  well  oiled  on  the  outside.  The  oil  acts  as  a  kind 
of  a  cushion,  and  light  charges  expands  the  shell  gradually  to 
fit  the  chamber  of  the  gun. 


BRASS    AND    PAPER    SHOT    SHELL.  23 

Brass  shell,  as  a  rule,  can  be  used  in  only  one  gun, 
from  the  fact  that  guns  are  not  chambered  uniformly;  even 
guns  of  the  same  make  often  vary  slightly.  After  brass 
shell  have  been  used  three  or  four  times  with  light  charges, 
they  will  stand  heavy  charges  without  farther  expansion; 
but  don't  neglect  to  oil  them  outside  every  time  they  are 
reloaded,  which  can  be  done  by  simply  wiping  them  with  a 
rag  saturated  with  oil.  The  inside  of  brass  shell  should 
never  be  cleaned,  no  matter  how  dirty  they  become;  burnt 
powder  will  leave  a  rough  surface  inside,  which  will  add 
materially  to  holding  the  wads  in  place.  To  clean  brass 
shell  it  is  best  to  do  it  before  the  exploded  primers  are  re- 
moved. Plug  the  end  of  the  shell  with  a  good  fitting  cork, 
then  wash  with  soap  and  water  to  remove  the  oil.  Then 
wash  in  a  solution  of  salt  in  warm  vinegar,  rinse  off  in  clear 
water,  and  wipe  dry.  In  this  way  you  can  clean  only  one 
shell  at  a  time,  unless  you  have  a  number  of  corks  for  the 
end;  or,  use  a  preparation  called  Universal  Metal  Puts 
Pomade.  This  a  red  paste,  put  up  in  tin  boxes.  By  fitting 
a  stick  in  the  shell,  with  enough  remaining  outside  for  a 
handle,  you  can,  with  the  pomade  and  a  woolen  cloth, 
make  your  shell  brighter  than  when  new,  and  in  a  very 
short  time.  This  Puts  pomade  is  good  for  cleaning  any 
kind  of  metal;  good  even  for  the  inside  of  gun  barrels, 
silverware  of  all  kinds,  watches,  jewelry,  etc.  It  is  very 
fine,  and  there  is  no  danger  of  scratching. 

Paper  shells  are  loaded  in  the  same  way  as  brass  shell, 
but  use  wads  the  same  number  as  the  shell;- for  brass  shell 
wads  from  one  to  two  sizes  larger.  To  render  paper 
shell  secure  in  handling  and  carrying  in  the  pocket,  the 
end  must  be  crimped  with  a  tool  called  crimper,  or  turn- 
over. After  the  paper  shells  are  loaded,  to  crimp  success- 
fully, not  more  than  one-eighth  of  an  inch  of  the  shell 
should  project  beyond  the  top  wad.  When  more  than  this 


24  SIMRTSMAN'S     HAND    BOOK. 

projects,  with  a  very  sharp  knife  or  shell  cutter  remove  the 
surplus,  then  the  shell  will  crimp  with  a  neat,  firm  bead, 
giving  the  end  of  the  shell  rather  a  pretty  appearance.  For 
12  gauge  shell  2.l/z  inches,  and  for  10  gauge  shell  2$ 
inches  long  will  be  found  to  be  about  right,  without  cutting 
off,  unless  very  small  charges  are  used. 

As  a  rule  it  don't  pay  to  reload  paper  shell,  except  the 
best  grades;  even  then,  life  is  too  short  to  be  hunting 
with  pockets  filled  with  empty  paper  shells,  which  are  too 
cheap  to  be  worth  saving. 

The  shell  chambers  of  guns  should  be  oiled  occasion- 
ally. For  this  purpose,  it  is  quite  convenient  to  carry  a 
pocket  oiler  in  the  vest  pocket,  where  it  would  always  be 
ready  for  use. 

The  following  letter,  written  by  the  author  of  this 
book,  was  published  in  the  Forest  and  Stream,  in  the  year 
1884,  in  connection  with  the  long  discussion  on  the  perform- 
ances of  shotguns.  It  is  here  reproduced,  as  it  has  many 
hints  directly  pertinent  to  the  subject: 

THE  PERFORMANCE  OF  SHOTGUNS. 

In  an  editorial  note,  February  21,  you  truly  say  that  the 
comparison  of  muzzle-loaders  and  the  breech-loaders  is  a 
dead  issue,  but  a  comparison  of  the  shooting  qualities  of  the 
two  guns  will  certainly  bring  about  just  the  discussion  you 
suggest:  "  the  relation  of  experiments  and  tests  in  loading 
to  secure  pattern  and  penetration." 

My  experience  in  hunting,  shooting  and  experimenting 
runs  back  for  thirty-five  years.  It  has  been  with  all  kinds 
of  guns,  from  the  old  Continental  flint-lock  musket  to  the 
best  breech-loaders  of  to-day.  I  now  own  three  breech- 
loaders made  by  myself  for  the  especial  purpose  of  experi- 
menting. One  is  a  single  barrel  3-bore,  weight  1 1  pounds, 
in  which  I  use  one-inch  Gatling-gun  brass  shells;  no  paper 
shell  large  enough  are  made.  One  is  a  single  lo-bore,  14 


BRASS    AND    PAPER    SHOT    SHELL.  25 

pounds,  and  the  third  a  2O-bore,  II  pounds.  I  design  con- 
ducting a  series  of  experiments  some  time  this  spring  and 
will  give  you  the  results.  With  all  my  practical  experience 
I  do  not  claim  to  be  authority,  but  what  I  have  to  say 
are  my  own  convictions,  based  on  the  results  of  many  prac- 
tical tests,  and  simply  give  them  as  such. 

The  old  saying  "  as  straight  as  a  gun  barrel  "  certainly 
had  no  reference  to  very  many  of  our  modern  double  breech- 
loaders, for  not  one  in  ten  has  straight  barrels.  I  refer  to 
the  inside  bore.  This  is  especially  true  as  to  the  cheaper 
grades,  and  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  many  of  the  better  grades 
have  the  same  fault.  In  order  to  get  the  required  strength 
for  the  breech  action  as  well  as  to  stand  heavy  charges, 
breech-loading  barrels  must  be  very  heavy  at  the  breech 
end.  This  necessitates  considerable  taper  in  the  barrels,  or 
the  guns  would  be  very  heavy.  Nearly  all  the  taper  is  in 
the  first  half  of  the  barrels  from  the  breech  end.  Very 
much  of  the  beauty  of  a  gun  depends  on  the  graceful  sheer 
given  to  the  taper.  In  joining  at  the  factory,  the  barrels 
are  sprung  together  in  the  center,  in  order  to  have  the  ribs 
fit  properly,  as  well  as  to  give  the  gun  a  graceful  appear- 
ance, hence  the  bore  of  the  barrels  are  not  straight.  How- 
ever, twelve  to  fifteen  inches  of  the  muzzle  ends  are  practi- 
cally straight,  and  parallel  with  the  line  of  sight.  It  often 
occurs  in  the  cheaper  grades  that  the  barrels  are  sprung  so 
much  in  the  center  that  the  muzzle  ends  diverge  to  the  right 
and  left,  in  such  guns  the  right  barrel  shoots  to  the  right 
and  the  left  one  to  the  left.  Guns  with  the  barrels  tapered 
down  very  thin  at  the  muzzle,  as  a  general  rule,  are  better 
shooters  than  those  with  thick  ones.  A  majority  of  choke- 
bored  guns  are  too  heavy  at  the  muzzle,  which  accounts  for 
their  grouping  the  shot  in  bunches  and  leaving  many  bare 
spots  in  the  targets.  In  very  thin  guns  there  is  a  certain 
amount  of  expansion  and  elasticity,  which  has  the  effect  to 


26 


SPORTSMAN'S   HAND  BOOK. 


overcome  the  tendency  to  group  the  shot,  hence  give  quite 
an  even  distribution. 

It  can  be  put  down  as  an  axiom  that  guns  having  the 
straightest  barrels,  other  things  being  equal,  will  give  the 
best  results. 

The  next  consideration  that  has  much  to  do  with  the 
good  and  bad  shooting  is  the  quality  and  quantity  of  the 
ammunition.  There  can  be  no  denying  the  fact  that  a  good 
quality  of  ammunition  is  better  than  a  poor  quality;  but  as 
to  quantity,  opinions  differ  greatly.  From  some  unaccount- 
able cause,  there  .  appears  to  be  a  general  opinion  that 
breech-loaders  require  very  much  more  powder  than  the 
old-styled  muzzle-loaders,  when,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  guns 
properly  chambered  and  properly  charged  require  less.  In 
well-constructed  breech-loaders  there  are  absolutely  no  es- 
caping gases  unless  the  plunger  cuts  through  the  primer. 
In  muzzle-loaders  it  quite  often  occurs  that  sufficient  gas 
escapes  at  the  nipple  to  throw  the  hammer  back  to  a  full 
cock.  In  guns  of  ordinary  weight,  8  pounds  to  8*4  pounds, 
I  would  not  advise  5  drams  of  powder  to  i*^  ounces  shot, 
nor  would  I  think  of  I  dram  of  powder  to  13  buckshot. 
The  proportion  of  powder  to  shot  that  gives  the  best  gen- 
eral results  will  be  found  to  be  3  drams  of  powder  to  one 
ounce  of  shot.  On  page  546  of  "  Haswell "  will  be  found 
proportions  of  powder  to  shot  for  the  following  numbers  of 
shot,  as  determined  by  experiment: 


No. 

Shot, 
oz. 

Po'der 
drams. 

No. 

Shot, 
oz. 

Po'der 
drams. 

No. 

Shut, 
oz. 

Po'der 
drams. 

2 

2 

1.5 

4 

1.5 

i#: 

6 

1.25 

23/8 

3 

1.75 

1.625 

5 

L375 

2# 

7 

1.125 

2ft 

NOTE. — Two  ounces  of  No.  2  shot  with  1.5  drams  of  powder  pro- 
duced the  greatest  effect.  The  increase  of  powder  for  the  greater 
number  of  pellets  is  in  consequence  of  the  increased  friction  of  their 
projection. 


BRASS    AND    PAPER    SHOT    SHELL.  27 

With  American  engineers  Haswell,  is  good  authority. 
How  few  men  from  actual  knowledge  could  dispute  the  re- 
sults as  he  has  given  them ;  I  could  not  do  it,  for  I  have  never 
experimented  with  2.  ounces  of  shot  to  \yz  drams  of  pow- 
der. Ogeecher's  I  dram  of  powder  to  13  buchshot  is  about 
according  to  Haswel.l.  Killing  a  buck  at  the  distance 
of  120  yards  with  such  a  charge  caps  the  climax.  Put  me 
down  as  a  little  skeptical.  Whoever  sticks  to  the  propor- 
tion of  3  drams  of  powder  to  one  ounce  of  shot  will  be  sat- 
isfied with  the  results. 

Now,  in  regard  to  wads.  Nearly  all  guns,  by  actual 
measurement,  are  from  one  to  two  gauges  smaller  than  they 
are  called.  Many  chokebore  los  will  gauge  but  12  at  the 
muzzle.  As  a  general  rule,  for  No.  10  brass  shells  No.  8 
wads  are  used;  for  a  paper  shell, -a  wad  of  the  same  num- 
ber as  the  shell.  There  is  also  a  general  opinion  that  brass 
shells  will  give  better  results  than  paper  shells;  but  all  of 
my  experiments  have  proven  the  contrary.  Paper  shells, 
loaded  with  wads  same  number  as  shell,  and  not  crimped, 
will  give  better  results  than  brass  shells  loaded  with  wads 
two  sizes  larger  than  shell.  Firm,  elastic  felt  wads  are  best. 
The  advantage  of  two  wads  on  the  powder  is  so  very  little 
that  I  have  never  been  able  to  discover  it. 

More  of  the  good  or  bad  results  of  shooting  depend  on 
the  manner  of  loading  than  most  shooters  are  willing  to 
admit.  The  ordinary  way  of  loading  is  to  use  for  brass 
shells  wads  two  or  three  sizes  larger  than  the  gun.  The 
large  wads  are  with  some  difficulty  forced  down  on  to  the 
powder  with  a  close-fitting  loading  plug,  that  has  either  a 
perfectly  flat  or  a  concave  end.  The  inside  of  brass  shells 
that  have  been  used  are  very  rough,  a  kind  of  sandpaper 
surface.  The  friction  of  the  large  wads  is  so  great  that  the 
force  of  the  discharge  will  bulge  the  center  of  the  wads 
forward,  and  when  the  wads  reach  the  smaller  or  true  cali- 


her  of  the  gun  at  the  end  of  the  chamber,  they  will  bulge 
still  more  in  the  center— the  worst  possible  condition  for 
good  results.  The  shot  will  be  projected  in  a  circle,  and 
the  center  of  the  target  will  have  few,  if  any,  shot  in  it. 
The  crimping  of  paper  shells  has  the  same  effect,  but  in  a 
much  less  degree,  inasmuch  as  the  wads  are  smaller. 

To  remedy  this  defect  in  loading,  use  a  loading  plug 
with  a  convex  or  cone-shaped  end,  and  for  a  No.  10  brass 
shell  use  a  No.  9  or  10  wad  on  the  powder.  The  wad  should 
be  firmly  rammed  on  the  powder  and  lightly  on  the  shot. 
If  two  wads  are  used  on  powder  they  should  be  each 
rammed  separately.  The  wads  will  be  seated  on  the  pow- 
der cuping  the  best  possible  shape  for  good  results  in  shoot- 
ing and  will  be  less  likely  to  start  from  tlie  recoil  or  rough 
handling.  I  once  made- a  very  poor  shooting  muzzle-loader 
a  very  good  one  by  changing  the  shape  of  the  butt  end  of  the 
ramrod.  The  fault  of  the  gun  was  that  it  distributed  the 
shot  in  a  ring.  The  center  of  the  target  for  a  foot  in  diam- 
eter would  be  almost  entirely  free  from  shot.  The  butt  end 
of  the  ramrod  was  very  much  concaved,  and  at  that  time  I 
used  very  large  wads.  I  reversed  the  shape  of  the  end  of 
the  rod,  made  it  very  much  convex  or  cone-shaped.  By 
using  this  rod  the  gun  was  made  an  excellent  shooter;  in 
fact,  it  acquired  such  a  reputation  that  I  sold  it  for  more 
than  first  cost,  after  using  it  for  six  years. 

I  have  one  more  experimental  way  of  loading,  which  I 
hope  all  glass-ball  shooters,  who  think  two  wads  are  a  neces- 
sity, will  try.  Load  a  few  shells  without  any  wad  between 
the  powder  and  shot.  Use  a  flat-ended  loading  plug.  Ram 
the  naked  powder  quite  hard;  then  put  in  the  shot.  On  the 
shot  put  one  good  felt  wad.  Try  this  on  glass  balls,  from 
any  kind  of  a  trap  at  the  regular  distance.  Now  don't  say 
that  charges  loaded  in  this  way  will  not  break  glass  balls 
until  you  have  tried  them.  In  my  experiments  I  used  No. 
9  shot. 


BRASS    AND    PAI'KR    SHOT    SHELL.  29 

Overcharges  of  powder  are  a  detriment  to  the  good 
shooting  of  any  gun.  Shot  discharged  from  the  muzzle  of 
a  gun  is  very  similar  to  water  discharged  from  a  hose 
nozzle.  A  hose  nozzle  to  throw  a  solid  stream  to  any  great 
distance  must  be  chokebored,  very  similar  to  a  chokebored 
gun.  There  is  a  limit  to  the  distance  that  water  can  be  pro- 
jected by  pressure  through  a  nozzle,  and  an  increased  press- 
ure at  that  limit  will  reduce  the  effective  distance.  There 
is  certainly  a  limit  to  the  effective  distance  of  the  best  shot- 
guns; and  overcharges  of  powder  will  reduce  the  effective 
distance  from  the  same  cause  that  an  over-pressure  will  re- 
duce the  distance  to  which  water  can  be  thrown. 

Heavy  or  overcharges  cause  heavy  recoil,  which  is  not 
only  unpleasant  to  the  shooter,  but  detrimental  to  good 
shooting.  The  force  of  the  recoil  backward  is  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  force  of  the  discharge  forward.  This  fact  is 
very  easily  demonstrated.  Take  a  gun  that  weighs  8  to  8^ 
pounds;  have  the  shells  loaded  with  5  drams  of  powder  and 
l^  ounces  of  shot.  Let  some  small  man,  who  weighs  about 
140  pounds  and  who  has  more  pluck  than  muscle,  fire  a  few 
of  the  shells  at  a  target  forty  yards.  Then  have  a  large, 
muscular  man,  of  210  pounds  weight,  shoot  the  same  gun 
with  a  similar  charge.  The  results  will  be  found  very  dif- 
ferent. The  heavy,  muscular  man  by  his  weight  and  muscle 
will  hold  the  gun  square  to  the  work,  and  put  all  the  force 
of  the  discharge  on  the  projected  shot.  The  small  man,  if 
quite  active,  will  keep  on  his  feet,  but  when  he  examines 
his  target  will  find  it  just  as  much  poorer  as  the  gun  kicked 
him  harder  than  it  did  the  heavy  man.  There  can  be  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  recoil  that  is  not  unpleasant,  but  rather  a 
satisfaction;  charges  just  up  to  that  point  will  be  found 
very  effective.  Charges  would  vary  according  to  the  weight 
of  the  gun,  as  well  as  the  weight  and  muscle  of  the  shooter. 

I  hope  good  may  result  by  a  full  discussion  of  this 
subject. 


30  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

Names  of   the    Parts    of   the  Breech- 
goading     Grun, 

ALPHABETICALLY  ARRANGED. 

Action. — Used  generally,  such  as  "snap  action,"  "side 
action." 

'  Action. — Used  specifically,  being   the    iron  body  which 
lies  between  the  barrels  and  the  stock. 

Back  Action. — When  the  locks  are  bedded  into  the 
stock  alone. 

Bar  Action. — When  the  locks  are  bedded  partly  into 
the  stock  and  partly  into  the  action,  frequently  likewise 
called  "  Fore  Action." 

Bolt. — The  part  which,  in  a-  snap  gun,  passes  into  the 
lump  of  the  barrel  to  hold  the  barrels  into  the  action  when 
the  gun  is  closed. 

Breech. — The  end  of  the  barrels  in  which  the  ignition 
of  the  powder  takes  place. 

Bump. — The  corner  of  the  stock  at  the  top  of  the 
heel-plate. 

Cases. — A  term  used  for  cartridges  when  empty. 

Chambers. — The  enlarged  spaces  made  for  the  cartridges 
to  be  inserted  into. 

Cartridges. — Cases  when  loaded.  Made  of  paper  or 
metal.  Paper  cases  are  cylindrical.  Metal  cases  for  shot- 
guns are  likewise  cylindrical.  Metal  cases  for  rifles  are 
largely  made  what  is  termed  "bottle-nosed,"  *.  ^.,  the  part 
which  contains  the  powder  is  one  or  two  bores  larger  than 
the  actual  bore  of  the  weapon,  in  order  that  being  wider  a 
shorter  case  may  be  used  and  the  proper  charge  of  powder 
retained.  The  I2A  metal  shell  can  be  used  in  a  gun  cham- 
bered for  the  common  12-bore  paper  shell,  but  the  I2B  metal 


NAMES  OF  THE  PARTS  OF  BREECH-LOADING  CiUN.  ol 

case  is  too  small  for  it.  Similarly  with  lo-bores.  A  gun 
bored  for  the  "B"  metal  will  not,  of  course,  take  the 
paper  case. 

Cap. — The  metal  covering  placed  on  the  end  of  the 
handle  when  it  is  pistol-shaped. 

Comb. — The  top  corner  of  the  stock  on  which  the  cheek 
rests  when  firing. 

Counter-Sink. — The  recess  in  the  chambers  in  which  the 
rim  of  the  cartridge  fits. 

Cross-Bar. — The  small  bar  which,  when  the  barrels  are 
falling,  presses  out  the  extractor. 

Direct  Fire. — That  shape  of  action  in  which  the  plungers 
lie  and  strike  the  ignition  horizontally.  (See  "Oblique 
Fire"). 

Extractor. — The  part  which,  when  the  gun  is  opened, 
partly  or  altogether  ejects  the  discharged  cartridge  case. 

Fore-end. — The  wooden  piece  under  the  barrel. 

Guard. — The  part  which  protects  the  triggers. 

Handle. — The   part  of  the   stock   gripped  by  the  hand,  , 
and    which      may    be     either    straight    or    pistol  -  shaped: 
(See  Cap.") 

Heel- Plate. — The  metal  base  of  the  stock,  and  which 
may  be  either  solid  or  "  skeleton  " — *.  <?.,  existing  merely  at 
the  edges  all  round,  or  "tips" — i.  e.,  only  at  top  and 
bottom. 

Lever. — The  part  by  which  the  gun  is  opened  or  closed. 
This  may  be  on  the  top  ("Top  Lever,")  side  ("Side 
Lever,")  or  under  ("Under  Lever.") 

Loop. — The  projection  under  the  barrel  to  which  the 
fore-end  is  fastened. 

Lump. — The  iron  piece  soldered  on  to  the  barrel,  and 
which  descends  into  the  action,  where  there  is  a  recess  pre- 
pared for  it. 


32  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

Oblique  Fire. — That  shape  of  action  in  which  the 
plungers  lie  and  strike  the  ignition  obliquely.  (See  "  Di- 
rect Fire.") 

Plates.—  The  sides  of  the  locks. 

Phmgcrs. — The  pins  which  are  struck  by  the  hammers, 
and  which,  in  consequence,  strike  the  caps  of  the  cartridges. 

Ribs. — Those  parts  of  the  barrel  above  and  below  which 
connect  the  two  tubes.  (See  "Tubes.") 

Scears. — The  parts  of  the  locks  which,  when  touched 
by  the  triggers,  release  the  tightened  mainsprings. 

Strap. — The  metal  "  peninsula  "  which  runs  from  the 
action  between  the  hammers  down  the  stock 

Toe. — The  lower  and  most  extreme  point  of  the  stock 
at  the  bottom  of  the  heel-plate. 

Tubes. — The   two  barrels  before  they  are  put  together. 

Tumblers. — That  part  of  the  lock  with  the  two  'notches 
in  it.  The  notches  are  by  the  artisan  called  bents;  "  a  rose 
by  any  other  name  would  smell  as  sweet."  These  notches 
catch  the  scear  and  constitute  "half"  and  "full"  cock. 


33 


WING  SHOOTING. 


The  following  suggestions  are  designed  especially  for 
the  beginner,  or  young  sportsman,  although  not  altogether 
inappropriate  to  many  old  and  experienced  ones.  As  to 
the  selection  of  a  gun,  that  has  become  simply  a  matter  of 
taste;  very  good  guns  are  so  cheap  there  is  no  excuse  for 
getting  a  poor  one. 

The  best  for  all-round  shooting  is  a  twelve  bore;  select 
the  straightest  stock  you  can  handle  with  ease.  The  length 
of  the  stock,  from  the  front  trigger  to  the  center  of  the  heel 
plate,  should  be  from  13^  to  14^  inches.  Short,  straight 
stocks  are  really  easier  to  handle,  and  will  prove  more  suc- 
cessful in  the  field. 

The  beginner  will  find  it  very  important  to  learn  to 
handle  his  gun  before  entering  the  field.  The  important 
points  to  observe  are  ease,  grace  and  precision. 

It  is  almost  an  invariable  rule  that  the  man  who  handles 
his  gun  gracefully  is  a  good  shot.  To  learn  to  handle  a 
gun  in  this  manner  will  require  careful  and  persistent  prac- 
tice. An  hour  each  day,  spent  in  your  room,  practicing  the 
art  of  throwing  your  gun  to  your  shoulder  gracefully,  and  in 
the  right  position,  will  be  of  gfeat  service  in  the  field;  you 
will  also  find  it  of  great  benefit  as  an  athletic  exercise, 
much  better  than  club  swinging  to  develop  the  muscles 
of  the  arms.  The  best  position  in  trap  shooting,  to 
resist  the  recoil  of  the  gun,  is  to  stand  firmly  on  the 
right  foot,  the  left  well  advanced,  with  knee  slightly  bent, 
and  the  body  well  forward.  This  position,  backed  with  a 
little  moral  resistance,  will  successfully  resist  the  recoil  of 
heavy  charges  without  injury  to  the  shoulder. 

Now  that  you  have  the  proper  position  of  feet  and 
body,  grasp  the  gun  with  the  right  hand  at  the  grip,  with 
your  finger  lightly  on  the  trigger;  with  the  left  hand,  grasp 


34  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  HOOK. 

the  gun  at,  or  in  front  of  the  fore  end;  hold  the  gun,  with 
the  arms  extended  just  free  from  the  body,  with  the 
muzzle  elevated  at  about  sixty  degrees  and  the  right  hand 
about  level  with  the  eye,  and  the  breech-plate  below  the 
elbow;  bring  the  gun  deliberately  (and  at  the  same  time  as 
quickly  as  possible)  to  the  shoulder.  This  is  done  by  simply 
dropping  the  muzzle  and  raising  the  breech,  or  butt,  to  the 
shoulder  with  the  right  hand  so  placed  as  to  require  but 
little  change. 

The  butt  of  the  gun  should  rest  firmly  against  the 
shoulder,  well  toward  the  breast,  and  not  on  the  arm,  keep- 
ing the  elbow  well  out  from  the  body  and  the  left  arm  ex- 
tended almost  straight,  as  if  pointing  at  the  object  you  are 
shooting  at,  as  it  is  with  this  arm  you  control  your  aim.  In 
this  way  you  can  easily  carry  the  sight  on  a  moving  object. 
An  hour  each  day  spent  in  study  and  practice  will  soon 
make  you  proficient  in  handling  your  gun.  as  well  as  a 
pleasant  muscular  exercise. 

Inasmuch  as  human  nature  is  one  bundle  of  habits,  it 
is  quite  important  that  they  be  correctly  formed,  for  once 
formed  they  are  instinctively  followed.  The  old  saying 
that  "  it  is  hard  to  teach  old  dogs  new  tricks,"  is  a  true  one; 
hence  the  importance  of  starting  aright.  While  in  the  pur- 
suit of  game,  carry  your  gun  habitually  in  one  position;  this 
may  seem  unimportant,  but  don't  forget  it.  To  become  a 
successful  wing  shot,  form  a  habit  of  instantaneous  action, 
(when  you  detect  the  presence  of  game)  and  it  must  never 
be  lost  sight  of. 

Carry  your  gun  in  a  position  that  you  can  easily  and 
promptly  throw  it  to  your  shoulder  with  the  hammers  at  full 
cock,  and  never  forgetting  the  direction  of  your  hunting 
companion,  or  dog,  and  under  no  circumstances  point  your 
gun  toward  them;  then  you  will  never  mourn  the  accidental 
loss  of  a  prized  companion,  or  valuable  dog.  A  very  good 


WING    SHOOTING.  .')•") 

position  in  which  to  hold  or  carry  a  gun  with  a  pistol  grip 
is  to  grasp  the  gun  at  the  grip  with  the  right  hand,  with  the 
elbow  close  to  the  body  and  the  barrels  of  the  gun-rest 
against  the  shoulder,  with  the  hammers  against  or  just  be- 
low the  front  of  the  shoulder,  the  muzzle  pointing  almost 
straight  up,  or  inclining  slightly  to  the  rear;  this  is  an  easy, 
safe  position,  and  the  habit  of  carrying  your  gun  in  this 
manner  is  soon  acquired.  Another  mode  is:  with  the  left 
hand  grasp  the  gun  at  or  directly  in  front  of  the  fore  end, 
with  the  right  hand  on  the  grip  and  the  index  finger  lightly 
pressing'the  trigger,  with  the  muzzle  pointing  toward  the 
ground  from  two  to  three  feet  in  front  of  you;  this  is  a  very 
good  way  to  carry  your  gun  but  more  fatiguing,  if  long 
continued.  The  last  position,  with  the  muzzle  elevated,  is 
also  good,  but  not  so  free  from  accidents  to  your  companions. 
Commence  operations  by  firing  at  the  first  and  every  bird 
flushed  within  range.  Don't  wait  for  a  better  shot,  the 
first  is  always  best.  Be  quick;  the  quicker,  the  greater  will 
be  your  success,  but  at  the  same  time  be  calm  and  as  delib- 
erate as  you  can  with  the  quickness  of  your  motions.  Re- 
member that  hurry  does  not  mean  flurry.  You  hear  a  great 
many  men  excuse  their  misses  by  saying  they  shoot  too 
quickly.  That  is  not  true,  they  shoot  in  a  flurry. 

The  true  way  is:  Bring  the  gun  to  your  shoulder;  see 
the  bird  in  full  view  over  the  sight  of  the  gun,  then  pull 
the  trigger.  Don't  be  discouraged  if  you  miss,  for  all  men 
are  inclined  to  overshoot  at  first;  but  shoot  at  any  rate,  as 
you  will  soon  establish  a  sympathy  between  your  eye  and 
finger;  that  is,  as  soon  as  the  eye  has  found  the  bird,  in  the 
proper  place  over  the  barrels,  the  finger  will  instinctively 
pull  the  trigger.  Sympathy  between  the  eye  and  finger  is 
absolutely  requisite  in  successful  shooting.  There  are  many 
important  points,  such  as  distance,  speed,  and  direction, 
judgment  in  all  of  these  particulars  can  only  be  acquired 


36 


SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  HOOK. 


by  long  continued  practice,  The  speed  with  which  ducks 
fly,  range  from  60  to  90  miles  per  hour.  When  flying  at  the 
rate  of  60  miles,  a  duck  will  pass  you  at  the  rate  of  n  feet 
in  a  tenth  of  a  second;  and  at  a  rate  of  90  miles,  would  pass 
16  feet  in  the  same  time. 

The  following  table  gives  the  result  of  experiments 
made  by  Alfred  M.  Mayer,  Professor  of  Physics  in  the 
Stevens  Institute  of  Technology,  Hoboken,  N.  J.,  taken 
from  a  report  read  before  the  American  Association  for  the 
advancement  of  science,  at  Boston,  on  August  31,  1880,  and 
published  in  the  Forest  and  Stream,  of  October  26,  1880. 

The  velocity  of  shot  was  determined  by  a  very  ingeni- 
ous contrivance  called  the  "  chronoscope."  Only  a  portion 
of  the  table  is  given  here,  being  quite  sufficient  to  establish 
the  mean  velocity  of  shot  with  a  given  charge  of  powder 
and  distance: 

10  GAUGE,  4  DRAMS  POWDER,  1^  OUNCE  SHOT. 


Size  of  Shot. 


Velocity  30 
yards. 


Velocity  40        Velocity  50 
yards.  yards. 


No.  3 

989  feet. 

911  feet.     872  feet. 

"  6 

966  " 

883  "      806  " 

"  8 

920  " 

874  "      7 

76  " 

"i° 

848  " 

756  "      669  4< 

i 

12  GAUGE  GUN, 


DRAMS  POWDER, 


OUNCE  SHOT. 


Size  of  Shot. 

Velocity  30 
yards. 

Velocity  40 
yards. 

Velocity  50 
yards. 

No.  3 
"     6 

"     8 
"  10 

844  feet. 
825    " 
816    " 

796    " 

754  feet. 

739     " 
749    " 
680    " 

696  feet. 
600    " 
607     " 

610    " 

WING    SHOOTING.  37 

\ 

Each  measure  of  velocity  given  in  these  tables  is  the 
mean  velocity  obtained  from  several  experiments,  varying  in 
number  from  three  to  six.  The  headings,  velocities  at  30, 
40  and  50  yards,  have  reference  to  the  speed  with  which 
they  passed  over  these  points. 

The  following  quotation  is  from  the  close  of  Professor 
Mayer's  paper.  The  entire  is  of  much  interest  and  directly 
to  the  point,  but  too  long  for  insertion  : 

•  "The  third  fact  which  these  experiments  show  is  that 
the  proper  charge  of  shot  in  a  12-gauge  gun  for  upland 
shooting  is  il/%  oz.  and  not  i^  oz.,  as  has  of  late  years  been 
the  practice  to  use;  for  the  tables  show  that  with  il/$  oz.  of 
shot  and  3^  drs.  of  powder  an  average  velocity  is  obtained 
which  requires  4  drs.  of 'powder  to  give  i%  of  shot  a 
velocity  equal  to  that  given  by  3^  drs.  to  il/&  oz.  Now, 
4  drs.  of  .powder,  if  not  fired  from  a  gun  weighing  at  least 
9  Ifos.,  and  from  a  good,  strong,  muscular  shoulder,  is  disa- 
greeable. The  effect  on  the  body,  and  especially  on  the 
brain,  is  neither  conducive  to  pleasant  nor  to  good  shoot- 
ing. The  number  of  pellets  in  a  charge  of  i*£  oz.  of  No.  8 
shot  is  499.  In  a  charge  of  il/%  oz.  of  the  same  shot  there 
are  449,  therefore  only  50  pellets  more  in  a  charge  of  i^ 
oz.  than  in  a  charge  of  \y%  oz. ;  and  surely  the  want  of  the  50 
will  not  cause  a  good  shot  to  miss  his  bird  with  449  pellets, 
nor  will  the  addition  of  the  50  give  a  bad  shot  any  more 
chance  of  bringing  his  bird  to  bag  with  his  499  pellets. 

"  I  wish  now  to  show  to  the  association,  and  especially  to 
those  members  of  it  who  are  sportsmen,  other  applications 
of  these  experiments  to  the  art  of  shooting  on  the  wing. 

"There  are  two  styles  of  shooting  on  the  wing — one  is 
called  'snap-shooting,'  where  the  shooter,  on  selecting  the 
bird  which  he  wishes  to  bag,  quickly  brings  the  gun  to  his 
shoulder  and  at  the  instant  it  is  in  place,  fires.  If  the  bird 
is  a  cross  shot,  he  determines  at  the  moment  of  fire  the  dis- 


38  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

tance  to  which  he  should  direct  his  gun  ahead  of  its  flight, 
this  distance  depending  on  the  velocity  of  the  bird's 
flight  and  on  his  distance  from  it.  This  manner  of  shoot- 
ing is  practiced  the  more  generally  by  upland  gunners  in 
shooting  quail,  grouse  and  woodcock. 

"The other  style  of  shooting  may  be  designated  as  '  the 
swing  shot,'  in  which  the  gunner  swings  his  gun  ahead  of 
the  cross  flight  of  the  bird  till  he  attains  the  proper  distance 
ahead  of  it,  and  then  fires;  but  he  keeps  his  gun  moving 
with  a  regular  angular  velocity  till  even  after  its  discharge. 
This  method  of  shooting  is,  in  my  opinion  and  from  my  ex- 
perience, the  proper  method  whenever  it  can  be  practiced, 
and  is  certainly  the  only  one  which  has  been  found  success- 
ful in  the  shooting  of  bay  fowl,  as  ducks,  brant  and  wild 
geese.  Yet  there  are  sportsmen  who  will  contend  that  they 
merely  follow  the  bird  with  the  gun,  and  discharge  it  while 
it  is  pointing  directly  at  the  bird.  I  put  this  opinion  to  the 
test  this  summer  in  the  following  manner:  Four  willets 
came  over  the  decoys  flying  in  line  with  a  good  speed. 
With  my  gun  I  followed  the  first  bird  coolly  and  accurately, 
and  kept  the  gun  moving  regularly  after  its  discharge.  In- 
stead of  killing  the  first  bird,  the  third  from  the  leader 
dropped  dead. 

"  To  give  a  rule  applicable  to  all  gunners  for  the  distance 
at  which  a  gun  should  be  held  ahead  of  a  bird  is  not  pos- 
sible. Some  sportsmen  follow  a  bird,  and  then  after  reach- 
ing before  it  the  proper  distance  suddenly  stop  the  angular 
motion  of  the  gun  and  then  fire.  Others,  after  following 
the  bird  a  short  distance,  give  a  quick,  lateral  motion  to  the 
gun  and  then  fire.  Others,  again,  bring  the  gun  with  a  lat- 
eral motion  ahead  of  the  bird  and  keep  the  gun  moving  till 
their  experience  decides  the  proper  distance  ahead  of  its 
flight,  and  then  fire  while  the  gun  is  keeping  its  previous 
regular  angular  velocity. 


WING    SHOOTING.  39 

"  For  the  simple  illustration  of  the  bearing  of  these  expe- 
riments on  the  art  of  shooting  on  the  wing  I  will  suppose 
that  at  the  moment  of  fire  the  gun  is  stationary;  in  other 
words,  that  we  are  firing  'snap-shots.'  If  the  bird  has  a 
velocity  across  the  line  of  sight  of  30  miles  an  hour  (/.  <?., 
44  ft.  per  sec.),  and  we  are  using  charges  in  a  12-gauge  gun 
of  3^  drs.  of  powder  and  i^  oz.  of  shot,  we  will  have  to 
shoot  about  5  feet  ahead  of  the  bird  if  it  is  flying  at  a  dis- 
tance of  30  yards;  at  7  feet  ahead  if  at  a  distance  of  40 
yards,  and  1 1  feet  ahead  of  the  bird  if  at  a  distance  of 
50  yards. 

"These  distances  ahead  for  cross  shots  at  birds  flying  at 
the  rate  of  30  miles  an  hour,  may  appear  out  of  all  reason 
with  the  experience  of  many  sportsmen;  yet  if  you  will  place 
a  stick  5  feet  long  at  40  yards  and  ask  the  same  gunners  if 
they  would  hold  ahead  of  a  bird  by  that  length  if  it  were 
going  with  a  velocity  of  30  miles,  I  venture  to  say,  from  my 
experiments  with  them,  that  they  will  say,  'Of  course; 
that  is  only  about  18  inches,'  so  difficult  is  it  to  determine 
a  length  at  a  distance  while  sighting  along  the  barrel 
of  a  gun. 

"  I  will  conclude  with  the  remark  that  the  study  of  this 
paper  will  not  make  a  good  shot  on  the  wing  no  more  than 
a  description  of  how  to  perform  on  the  violin  will  make  an 
accomplished  violinist.  But  the  results  of  these  experi- 
ments are  of  value,  and  cannot  but  improve  the  shooting  of 
an  accomplished  sportsman,  if  they  are  practically  applied." 


40  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

BORE  OF  SHOTGUNS. 

There  are  practically  three  kinds  of  boring  for  shot- 
guns— full  choke,  modified  choke,  and  cylinder  bore.  A 
choke  bore  is  of  two  kinds;  in  one  the  barrel  is  a  true  cylin- 
der to  within  three-quarters  of  an  inch  of  the  muzzle,  when 
the  bore  gradually  contracts  to  the  end.  The  other  kind  is 
called  jug  choke;  that  is,  when  the  choke  is  accomplished 
by  enlarging  the  bore  from  three-quarters  of  an  inch  of  the 
muzzle  down  three  or  four  inches.  Full  choke  does  not  have 
reference  to  the  amount  of  contraction  at  the  muzzle  by  the 
per  cent,  of  shot  it  will  put  in  a  given  circle  at  a  given  dis- 
tance. Guns  that  will  put  from  three  to  four  hundred  pel- 
lets, No.  8  shot,  in  a  30  inch  circle  at  40  yards,  are  full 
choke.  A  good  cylinder  bore  will  put  from  150  to  180 
No.  8  shot  in  a  30  inch  circle  at  40  yards. 

For  wing  shooting  for  any  small  game  a  cylinder  bore 
is  much  the  best.  Choke  bores  are  best  for  ducks  and  larger 
game.  Cylinder  bored  guns  shoot  buckshot  better  than 
choke  bores.  It  is  not  advisable  to  shoot  buckshot  in  a 
choke  bore,  even  if  they  chamber  loosely  at  the  muzzle  of 
the  gun. 

The  best  all-purpose  gun  is  a  12-gauge  30  inch  cylinder 
bored  seven  pound  gun.  Would  prefer  a  smaller  bore 
rather  than  a  larger.  All  late  experiments  are  favorable  to 
small  bore  and  very  light  guns. 

Always  be  cautious,  calm,  and  deliberate,  under  all 
circumstances.  Take  a  day's  tramp  through  the  fields  or 
woods  whenever  you  can.  There  is  a  proverb  among  the 
Arabs  that  the  "days  spent  in  the  chase  are  not  counted  in 
the  length  of  life."  True  field  sports  not  only  prolong  a 
man's  life,  but  makes  his  life  more  vigorous,  in  both  mind 
and  body,  thereby  giving  a  clearer  and  better  understand- 


BORE   OF   SHOTGUNS.  41 

ing  of  the  true  philosophy  of  life,  which  should  be  to  love 
the  world  and  mankind,  and  do  all  the  good  you  can. 

The  caliber,  gauge,  or  bore  of  shotguns,  is  determined 
by  the  number  of  round  lead  balls,  of  the  exact  size  of  the 
bore,  which  would  weigh  one  pound.  Thus  ten  balls  that 
would  weigh  a  pound  would  be  the  ball  for  a  10  gauge,  12 
balls  to  the  pound  for  a  12  gauge,  etc.  Muzzle-loading 
rifles  were  gauged  in  the  same  way,  but  rifles  are  now 
gauged  by  the  one-hundredths  of  an  inch;  thus  a  22  caliber 
rifle  is  one  in  which  the  bore  of  the  gun  is  just  -££$  of  an 
inch  in  diameter — -a.  45,  T%5^  of  an  inch.  When  the  amount 
of  powder  and  lead  is  given  the  first  figure  refers  to  the 
caliber,  the  second  ones  to  the  amount  of  powder,  and  the 
third  to  the  weight  (in  grains)  of  the  bullet;  thus  a  45-70- 
420  is  a  45  calibered  rifle  shooting  a  ball  weighing  420 
grains  and  charged  with  70  grains  of  powder. 

The  theoretical  length  for  gun  barrels  is  not  less  than 
43  times  the  diameter,"  or  more  than  47  times  the  diameter  of 
the  bore. 


42  SPORTSMAN'S   HAND  BOOK. 

MISSFIRES,   CAUSE  AND  CURE. 

The  causes  of  missfires  are  numerous,  prominent  among 
which  are  defective  ammunition, weak  mainsprings,  defective 
plungers, and  defective  rebounding  locks.  Rebounding  locks 
are  made  in  various  ways,  yet  all  on  the  same  principle;  and 
that  is,  the  force  of  the  blow  of  the  hammer  is  given  by  the 
mainspring  for  two-thirds  or  more  of  the  distance  it  passes, 
when,  by  various  devices,  the  mainspring  is  released  and 
the  stroke  finished  by  acquired  momentum.  When  this 
momentum  has  to  carry  with  it  much  back  pressure,  as  in 
common  English  guns,  missfires  often  occur. 

The  back  pressure  is  the  power  that  brings  the  hammer 
back  to  a  half-cock,  called  rebounding.  The  best  rebound- 
ing locks  are  those'  that  require  the  least  back  pressure*  to 
accomplish  the  object.  This  can  be  easily  tested  by  hold- 
ing the  trigger  back  with  the  finger  and  observe  the  press- 
ure required  with  the  thumb  on  the  hammer  to  shove  the 
hammer  forward  to  the  plunger.  Plungers  that  strike  ob- 
liquely, or  at  quite  an  angle,  or  plungers  that  are  too  short, 
blunt,  or  sharp,  or  don't  work  free;  primers  that  are  imper- 
fectly seated  in  recapping,  are  among  the  causes  of  missfires. 

REMEDIES. — Weak  mainsprings  suggest  their  own  rem- 
edy. Defective  ammunition  is,  as  a  rule,  rare.  Defective 
robounding  locks  can,  in  most  cases,  be  remedied  by  a  first- 
class  gunsmith.  When  the  plungers  strike  at  quite  an  angle 
the  plunges  should  be  taken  out  and  filed  flat  on  the  end,  if 
they  are  long  enough.  A  plunger  with  a  flat  end  being 
sharp  on  the  corners,  will  cut  into  the  primer  instead  of 
sliding  down  it,  and  in  most  cases  remedy  the  defect;  also 
flattening  the  ends  will  remedy  inclined  plungers  that  strike 
the  primer  too  low  down.  Plungers  that  are  sharp-pointed 
are  apt  to  cut  through  the  primer;  in  this  case  the  gun  will 


MISSFIRES,  CAUSE    AND    CURE.  43 

throw  fire,  foul  the  plungers,  and  often  burn  the  face  of  the 
shooter.  Plunges  should  occasionally  be  taken  out,  cleaned 
and  oiled.  If  the  gun  fouls  much  at  the  breech-work,  or  in 
the  plungers,  by  examining  a  shell  after  firing  it  will  be 
found  that  the  primer  has  been  cut  through  by  the  blow  of 
the  plunger  sufficiently  to  permit  the  escape  of  gases.  In 
this  case,  the  plungers  are  too  sharp;  flatten  them  with  a 
file.  In  recapping,  shell  primers  will  be  rendered  more  sen- 
sitive by  having  the  boss,  or  projection  of  the  recapper  that 
forces  the  primer  in  place  flat  instead  of,  as  usual,  concaved. 
However,  the  concave  recapper  is  best,  with  properly  con- 
structed locks  and  plungers. 


44 


SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 


CHOICE  OF  A  HUNTING    RIFLE. 

How  often  the  question  is  asked,  "Which  is  the  best 
hunting  rifle?"  The  question  is  an  unsettled  one,  and  will 
never  be  answered  satisfactorily  to  all  inquirers. 

Inasmuch  as  a  rifle  is  not  necessary  in  the  pursuit  of 
small  game,  it  is  presumed  that  the  question  has  reference 
strictly  to  large  game,  such  as  is  found  in  the  north  and 
west,  but  if  the  rate  of  shameless  butchery  and  destruction 
continues  for  a  few  years  there  will  be  no  occasion  for  a 
hunting  rifle  of  any  kind.  The  choice  of  a  hunting  rifle 
depends  entirely  upon  the  kind  of  ammunition  it  uses.  This 
has  no  reference  to  muzzle-loaders,  for  they  are  a  thing  of 
the  past,  so  far  as  hunting  is  concerned.  Any  of  our  mod- 
ern, regularly  manufactured  breech-loaders,  are  good  ones; 
the  caliber,  quantity  of  powder,  and  of  lead  they  use,  is  the 
important  question.  Important  as  the  weight  of  the  bullet 
is,  by  the  following  table  it  will  be  seen  that  caliber  is  no 
index  to  the  weight  of  the  bullet  used.  Take  a  list  of  dif- 
ferent cartridges  and  compare  them. 

The  first  column  of  figures  represent  the  caliber  in 
hundredths  of  an  inch,  the  second  column  the  number  of 
grains  of  powder,  the  third  the  number  of  grains  of  lead: 


Express   Cartridge                        .    ..... 

50 

95 

300 

Sharp's  Sportin0"  

50 

90 

473 

50 

70 

425 

Remington                        

44 

90 

470 

Government  

45 

70 

405 

"              new  model           .  • 

45 

70 

500 

Sharp's  Special  

45 

100 

500 

Ballard  

38 

55 

255 

\Vinchester                             

44 

40 

200 

45 

75 

350 

n 

45 

60 

300 

Ballard                  

40 

70 

330 

U.    S.   Government.. 

50 

70 

450 

CHOICE    OF    A    HUNTING    RIFLE.  45 

This  list  comprises  about  all  the  rifle  cartridges.  Light 
bullets  have  the  best  trajectory;  heavy  ones  the  greatest 
penetration,  hence  the  greatest  killing  power.  The  .50- 
95-300  Express  is  pronounced  by  the  experienced  hunters  of 
the  West  a  failure  and  as  no  good  at  all.  Sharp's  Special 
.45-100-500  as  the  most  deadly,  hence  Sharp's  rifles  have  a 
reputation  in  the  western  territories  as  being  the  best  rifle 
made.  The  Springfield,  or  regular  Government  service  gun 
.45-70-405,  the  next  best.  On  the  frontier  it  is  called  a 
needle  gun.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  practical,  matter-of 
fact  hunters  select  as  the  best  rifle  the  one  using  the  heaviest 
bullet. 

Quantity  of  powder  and  weight  of  lead  is  all  there  is 
in  choosing  a  rifle,  as  any  well  made  rifle,  using  the  Sharp's 
Special,  would  be  as  effective  as  Sharp's  rifle  using  the 
same  ammunition.  Select  a  rifle  that  will  use  the  most 
readily  procured  ammunition,  which  would  be  the  Govern- 
ment .45-70-405.  Whatever  rifle  you  choose,  be  sure  to 
choose  one  that  is  chambered  for  the  45  Government, 
for  the  Government  ammunition  can  be  had  at  any  trading 
or  military  post  in  the  West,  and  where  special  ammunition 
could  not  be  found.  The  45  Government  cartridge  has 
sufficient  penetration  to  cleanly  kill  the  largest  game  we 
have  in  the  country,  and  it  has  no  unpleasant  recoil.  If 
any  man  has  lost  a  large  number  of  "  grizzlies,"  and  can 
stand  a  kick  equal  to  a  government  mule,  it  would  be  ad- 
visable for  him  to  use  a  .45-100-500  Sharp's. 

The  best  sights  for  a  man  whose  vision  is  perfect  and 
clear  is  the  plain,  open  sight  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  pat- 
tern; for  one  whose  vision  is  imperfect,  or  failing, 
Lyman's  hunting  sight  is  the  best.  The  front  sight  should 
be  a  pin-head  or  ball,  and  at  least  5-16  of  an  inch  high, 
with  the  ball  nearly  one-eighth  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  and 
the  point-blank  of  your  rifle  should  be  at  least  loo  yards. 


46  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

Point-blank  in  rifle  practice  is  the.  exact  point  at  which  the 
bullet  crosses  the  line  of  sight.  There  is  technically  two 
point-blanks,  or  two  points  where  the  ball  crosses  the  line 
of  sight;  the  first  one  is  not  far  from  the  gun  in  long 
range  shooting.  The  point-blank  referred  to  is  always  the 
second  point  where  the  bullet  crosses  the  line  of  sight. 

The  sights  of  a  hunting  rifle  should-  be  so  arranged  that 
the  point-blank  would  be  at  100  yards;  any  intermediate 
distance,  an  allowance  should  be  made  for  the  rise  of  the 
ball  while  passing  this  distance,  to  prevent  overshooting 
your  object.  Vernier  sights  for  hunting  are  of  little  practi- 
cal importance,  for  in  hunting,  distance  is  unknown  and  is 
simply  guess  work.  The  eye,  over  fixed  sights,  with  prac- 
tice will  soon  learn  to  judge  distance  and  the  necessary  ele- 
vation or  depression,  and  much  more  quickly  than  in 
any  other  way.  . 

The  following  letter,  signed  "S,"  appeared  in  the 
"  Forest  and  Stream  "  November  24,  1884,  and  is  a  sarcastic 
and  ironical  summing  up  of  the  many  earnest  communica- 
tions on  the  same  subject  which  preceded  it.  It  is  here 
reproduced  in  full,  and  no  more  likely  to  confuse  than  many 
that  were  written  with  the  design  of  being  instructive: 

LUCUS    A    NON    LUCENDO. 

I  have  read  with  absorbingly  thrilling  interest  the  few 
articles  on  "Choice  of  Hunting  Rifles,"  which  have  from 
time  to  time,  during  the  past  century,  appeared  in  the 
Forest  and  Stream,  and  although  I  have  no  use  for  a  rifle, 
and  perhaps  never  shall  have,  excepting  to  shoot  rats,  still, 
like  the  authors  of  many  of  the  aforesaid  articles,  I  can 
imagine  what  kind  of  a  rifle  I  should  want  in  the  presence 
of  a  trumpeting  elephant,  charging  grizzly,  nimble  deer,  or 
zig-gagging  snipe,  and  so  as  these  articles  appear  to  be  • 
"  runnin'  to  emptins,"  before  the  polls  close,  I  should  like  to 


-  CHOICE    OF   A    HUNTING   RIFLE.  47 

show  you  what  kind  of  a  rifle  I  choose.  Modesty  and 
some  ignorance  have  prevented  me  from  appearing  before, 
but  now  I  suppress  the  former,  and  having  the  combined 
ideas  of  the  said  articles  aforesaid,  I  can  form  some  idea  of 
my  own  as  to  what  I  want. 

The  perfect  hunting  rifle  has  not  yet  been  produced. 
We  have  had  attempts  on  paper  and  at  different  armories 
and  gun  works,  but  good  as  some  of  the  weapons  have 
been,  there  has  arisen  some  objector  or  other  who  shows 
convincingly  that  the  gun  won't  do,  and  so  all  that  labor  is 
lost.  We  don't  seem  to  get  any  nearer  perfection,  and  it 
is  just  possible  as  long  as  people  differ,  we  never  shall. 
Now,  it  would  be  supposed  that  a  gun  that  will  kill  one 
deer  will  kill  any  other  deer  of  the  same  kind,  if  hit  simi- 
larly, but  we  find  it  is  not  so.  It  is  a  curious  and  inexpli- 
cable fact,  as  witness  the  total  disagreement  of  Western 
deer  hunters  as  to  the  perfect  deer  gun.  One  wants  a 
.45-125-360  double-detachable — reversible  pin-fire  repeater, 
and  the  next  one  must  have  a  .40-226-341  multiplex- 
extractor,  combined  safety  bolt  and  a  linch-pin  single  fire — 
nothing  else  will  do  to  kill  a  deer  with.  One  man  never 
went  out  with  a  repeater  and  got  anything  but  tired  out, 
and  he  has  heard  time  and  again  how  some  other  hunter  in 
a  critical  moment,  when  an  angry  grizzly  was  rushing  at 
him  with  open  arms  and  mouth,  had  the  carrier-pin-get-foul 
of  the  breech-hammer,  whereby  the  trajectory  caught  on  the 
cannelure  and  stuck  in  the  collar.  Of  course  the  man  got 
left.  Then  the  other  fellow  tells  how  he  pumped  lead  into 
buffalo  and  Utes  all  day  until  the  gun  had  to  be  cooled  off 
in  water,  and  it  worked  all  along  as  smooth  as  a  piston  rod. 
Which  of  these  guns  will  best  kill  a  deer?  Either  will 
probably,  at  times,  put  a  ball  into  leg  or  paunch  instead  of 
the  eye,  so  that  neither  can  be  called  a  perfect  weapon. 
Then  another  hunter  comes  to  the  fore  with  a  gun  that 


48  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK: 

might  be  styled  indestructible.  He  was  hunting  on  the 
side  of  a  mountain  in  winter.  Snow-slide — hunter  caught 
in  a  tree-top — gun  keeps  on — found  next  spring — nothing 
Jeft  but  the  bore,  but  it  slew  that  very  day  three  deer  and  a 
grizzly.  Next  week  a  man  came  in  from  hunting  and  sat 
his  repeater  up  in  the  corner.  Servant  came  in  to  dust  the 
room  with  feather  duster —accidentally  hit  gun — chamber 
thereof  twisted  so  badly  had  to  be  sent  to  factory.  Such 
experiences  as  these  naturally  cause  a  man  to  ask  what  he 
can  depend  on. 

Now,  as  to  accuracy,  it  makes  a  vast  difference  in  my 
estimation  whether  the  point-blank  of  a  rifle  is  in  inverse 
ratio  to  the  drop  of  stock.  A  crescent-shaped  butt  with 
bottle-nosed  cartridge,  450  to  the  peck,  will  make  a  fearful 
hole  in  an  animal  if  the  stock  is  properly  checked.  The 
checking  of  the  animal  depends  largely  on  this  latter. 
But  after  all  it  is  the  shock  that  kills.  Ask  any  man  who 
has  had  a  current  from  a  Brush  machine  sent  through  him. 
The  coming  gun  is  the  one  having  the  greatest  amount  of 
shock  in  it.  A  sort  of  paralytic  or  apoplectic  shock.  We 
all  know  how  this  acts  on  humanity,  why  should  it  not  act 
similarly  on  animals.  True  they  (the  animals)  might  run 
some  after  being  hit,  but  it  would  be  an  erratic,  short- 
lived flight. 

In  the  center-fire  cartridges  the  bearing  surface  of  the 
ball  when  impinging  on  the  twist  naturally  suffer  an  appre- 
ciable loss  of  motion  caused  by  the  fulminate  being  placed 
too  far  back  of  the  magazine,  consequently  the  upset  is 
reached  before  the  breech-block  can  escape.  Such  being 
the  case,  it  would  seem  highly  important  that  the  butt-plate 
which  interferes  with  the  prompt  action  of  the  "neck" 
should  be  narrowed  to  a  point  where  the  groove  will  barely 
miss  the  shoulder.  Otherwise  derangement  of  sight  will 
ensue  and  the  approximate  curve  of  the  bullet  will  be 


CHOICE   OF   A    HUNTING    RIFLE.  49 

sufficiently  variable  to  cause  trouble.  There  is  no  necessity 
of  defining  this.  "  Bengal  Sepoy's"  pessimistic  view  of  the 
disproportion  existing  between  the  cost  of  cartridges  and 
weight  of  bullet  will  deceive  no  one.  The  fact  is,  the 
striking  energy  is  to  the  muzzle  velocity  as  the  pull  is  to 
the  trigger.  At  335  yards  I  have  rarely  done  better  than  7 
bullets  into  6  long  by  8  wide  by  5  high,  10*^  bullets  into 
4  wide  by  8  long  by  9  high,  and  9  bullets  into  7^£  round. 
This  with  elongated  swedge,  Skimmerhorn  tube  and  loop- 
hole, is  a  beautiful  weapon,  because  harmless  in  the  hands 
of  the  didn't-know-it-was-loaded  idiot. 

A.  J.  &  W.  Folly  is  hardly  so  good  for  chipmunks  as 
the  new  U.  S.  Express,  .11-15^-21,  which  paralyzes  with- 
out mutilating.  The  trajectory  of  this  needs  to  be  flattened 
a  little,  however,  as  this  species  of  game  rarely  rises  over 
100  yards.  For  gray  squirrels  .32  is  much  too  large,  .22  too 
small;  I  should  advise,  say  .23^,  bullet  irregular  rhomboid 
with  rapidly  decreasing  circumference.  For  fox  squirrels 
.we  need  a  .6-41-26,  four  turns  to  the  inch,  modified  drop. 
With  due  deference  to  "J.  T.'s"  knowledge  and  experience 
with  California  rodents,  I  affirm  that  Eastern  squirrels  need 
different  ordnance.  For  deer,  if  I  were  in  Florida,  I 
should,  by  all  means,  use  the  regular  .31-64-154,  as  deer 
are  known  to  be  smaller  there  than  in  Pennsylvania.  In 
North  Carolina  the  most  effective  weapon  would  be  a 
.33-69-161,  as  deer  there  are  considerably  larger,  having 
more  to  eat.  In  the  Northern  States,  east  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  the  well-known  Blunt  8mo.  .42-71-209  lightning 
express,  will  4dll  cleaner  than  any  other,  if  the  gun  is  clean. 
A  mule  deer,  as  the  name  implies,  requires  much  heavier 
ordnance  to  fetch  him  to  time.  If  permitted,  he  will  carry 
away  a  large  amount  of  lead  and  expletives.  The  coming 
gun  for  this  kind  of  game,  elk  and  caribou,  is  the  portable 
electrical  Catling,  Siemens'  battery,  and  Brush  dynamo. 


50  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

This  would  seem  to  be  the  gun  par  excellence  for  antelope, 
for  they  can  usually  be  seen  a  great  way,  and  it  is  necessary 
to  shoot  as  long  as  they  can  be  seen.  We  frequently  read 
of  hunters  emptying  their  Westchesters  at  them  and  then 
following  the  wounded  game  all  day.  This  in  itself  is 
enough  to  condemn  the  gun.  We  want  a  gun,  the  ball  of 
which,  has  an  affinity  for  the  particular  game  it  is  made  for, 
and  which  it  will  search  out  and  corral  without  needless 
waste  of  time  and  muscle.  Some  one  wants  to  find  such  a 
gun  quickly,  too,  for  before  many  days  there  will  be  no  use 
for  rifles,  except  to  show  our  children  as  weapons  "  we  used 
to  shoot  deer  with  before  they  were  extinct." 

Such  are  my  ideas  on  the  "Choice  of  Hunting  Rifles." 
If  they  help  any  one  in  his  dilemma  caused  by  so  many  con- 
flicting views  published  in  Forest  and  Stream,  I  shall  feel 
that  they  have  accomplished  wonders.  S. 


Hunting  Large  Game,   and  Woodcraft. 

The  art  of  hunting  can  not  be  learned  from  books,  but 
a  few  hints  upon  the  most  important  points  will  be  of  some 
value  to  the  man  who  goes  into  the  woods  but  once  a  year, 
and  then  only  for  a  few  days  or  weeks.  A  good  hunter  is 
born  to  the  craft;  not  even  one  Indian  in  ten  is  a  good 
hunter,  although  they  are  children  of  the  woods.  Never 
start  out  on  a  full  day's  hunt  without  taking  along  a  good, 
substantial  lunch,  and  plenty  of  it;  and  always  be  provided 
with  a  little  package  of  tea,  and  one  of  salt,  also  a  tin-cup; 
there  maybe  an  "  emergency  "  when  these  things  would 
more  than  repay  the  trouble  of  carrying  them  along. 

It  is  taken  for  granted  that  hunters'  camps  are  always 
on  the  bank  of  some  running  stream,  or  lake,  or  on  some 
lumber  road,  or  trail,  near  a  spring  or  brook,  and  that  each 
hunter  is  provided  with  (in  addition  to  gun  and  ammuni- 
tion) a  compass,  a  light  hatchet,  or  camp  ax,  a  small 
butcher  knife,  or  large  pocket  knife.  With  the  aid  of  the 
compass  you  can  establish  in  your  mind  the  course  of  the 
river,  road,  or  trail,  or  the  "lay"  of  the  lake,  as  the  case 
may  be. 

Observe  the  range  of  hills,  the  class  of  timber,  or  any 
peculiar  trees,  and  other  special  landmarks  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  camp. 

All  will  be  of  great  importance  to  the  young  hunter,  as 
they  will  familiarize  him  with  a  strange  woods  and  give 
him  confidence  in  venturing  from  camp. 

If  but  a  few  days,  or  a  week,  is  to  be  spent  at  the  camp, 
after  it  has  been  thoroughly  put  in  order,  it  is  better  to 
spend  the  first  two  days  in  establishing  the  landmarks, 
whereby  camp  may  be  easily  found. 

The  pleasure  of  hunting,  as  well  as  the  success,  depends 
a  great  deal  in  the  confidence  and  assurance  with  which 


52  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

you  can  venture  into  the  woods  five  or  six  miles  from  camp, 
which  is  quite  far  enough  where  game  is  reasonably  plen- 
tiful, 

By  taking  the  following  precautions  a  party  of  four  in 
two  days  can  establish  such  a  system  of  landmarks  for  a  ra- 
dius of  six  or  seven  miles,  that  camp  can  easily  be  found  at 
any  time.  It  can  be  done  in  this  way:  Early  in  the  morn- 
ing each  of  the  four  men  in  the  party  take  a  different  cardi- 
nal point  of  the  compass  and  follow  the  course  as  directly 
as  he  can,  by  his  compass,  and  with  his  hatchet  blaze  the 
route  on  the  prominent  trees,  no  farther  apart  than  they  can 
easily  be  seen,  from  one  tree  to  another;  making  one  blaze 
on  the  side  next  to  camp  and  two  on  the  side  from  the  camp  ; 
in  this  way  the  two  blazes  establish  the  direction  of  the 
camp.  By  getting  an  early  start,  six  or  seven  miles  can  be 
blazed  by  two  o'clock,  or  a  little  later;  then  you  can  hunt 
leisurely  back  to  camp,  keeping  a  close  watch  for  game  and 
deer  sign,  such  as  trails,  runways,  or  crossings.  Observe 
if  the  bushes  have  been  freshly  scraped  by  deer  rubbing 
them  with  their  horns;  also  notice  if  the  ground  in  places 
has  been  pawed,  or  scraped,  as  hunters  call  it.  Where  deer 
"use"  much,  their  signs  are  plain  to  be  seen;  go  slowly  and 
carefully  at  such  places,  keeping  a  sharp  lookout  for  deer, 
as  you  are  likely  to  see  one;  stop  often  near  a  tree  and  scan 
the  surroundings  thoroughly,  for  stealth  and  silence,  in  this 
ease,  is  the  price  of  venison. 

The  next  day  each  man  take  an  intermediate  point  of 
the  compass,  performing  the  same  operation  of  blazing, 
then  hunting  slowly  and  stealthily  back  to  camp. 

Now  you  have  for  a  radius  of  six  or  seven  miles  from 
camp,  and  entirely  around  it,  eight  blazed  lines  leading 
directly  to  camp,  and  you  can  now  hunt  at  will,  devoting  all 
your  ingenuity  and  mind  to  the  pursuit  of  game,  and  at  no 
time  will  you  be  very  far  from  some  of  the  blazed  routes  to 


HUNTING  LARGE  GAME,   A\D  WOODCRAFT.  53 

camp.  You  will  find  a  supreme  pleasure  in  being  able 
to  venture  from  camp  with  confidence,  and  it  will  more  than 
pay  for  the  trouble;  also  the  success  of  your  hunting  will  be 
greater,  as  you  can  hunt  until  quite  late  in  the  evening,  _ 
which  is  the  best  time  to  look  for  deer,  when  otherwise  your 
anxiety  to  find  camp  would  occupy  your  thoughts  and  de- 
tract from  the  pursuit  of  game. 

These  instructions  are  not  for  old  woodsmen  or  hunters, 
as  they  have  by  long  observation  and  experience  learned 
how  to  keep  their  course,  and  it  seems  almost  instinctively  so ; 
however,  they  are  not  infallible,  for  if  closely  questioned 
they  will  admit  having  spent  many  lonely  nights  in  the 
woods,  through  their  inability  to  find  camp. 

The  young  hunter  will  find  that  it  will  more  than  repay 
him  to  take  any  and  every  precaution  that  will  give  him 
confidence,  courage,  and  assurance.  All  kinds  of  large 
game  is  constantly  on  the  alert;  their  hearing  is  acute,  and 
their  eyesight  is  very  sharp,  and  their  sense  of  smell  is  phe- 
nomenal. They  are  at  all  times  on  the  lookout  for  an  enemy; 
therefore,  to  successfully  outgeneral  the  wary  denizens  of 
the  forest,  requires  a  species  of  craft  that  is  almost  innate,  or 
the  result  of  long,  very  long,  experience.  Silence,  stealth, 
patience,  and  endurance  are  the  main  requirements.  By 
observation,  learn  the  places  where  deer  use,  and  feed,  or 
routes  they  travel.  In  traveling,  deer  follow  each  other, 
even  to  making  distinct  trails;  these  are  called  runways. 
After  you  have  found  their  feeding  grounds  and  runways, 
if  you  have  the  patience  to  sit  "quietly  on  a  log"  and  the 
endurance  to  withstand  the  cold  for  a  few  hours  each  day, 
morning  and  evening,  you  will  certainly  be  rewarded  with 
a  shot  at  a  deer,  at  short  range.  A  deer  coming  from  the 
windward  toward  you  will  pass  within  a  few  feet  of  you  and 
not  see  you,  provided  you  don't  move,  and  remain  perfectly 
quiet;  also,  a  deer  may  even  get  scent  of  you,  but  he  von't 


54  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

run  until  he  sees  you  move.  Now  is  the  time  your  gun 
should  be  in  a  good  position  to  be  easily  handled,  and  with 
the  least  possible  motion.  A  deer  will  not  run  from  the  re- 
.port  of  a  gun  if  he  has  not  seen  the  hunter  move.  "  Culti- 
vate the  art  of  sitting  quietly  on  a  log"  or  in  the  same 
manner,  leaning  against  a  tree.  If  in  the  vicinity  where 
deer  feed,  or  are  in  the  habit  of  passing,  your  chances  of 
success  are  ten  times  greater  than  in  any  other  style  of  hunt- 
ing. Stalking  deer  by  their  track  in  the  snow,  requires 
great  skill  and  any  amount  of  physical  endurance,  and 
can  be  practiced  only  by  men  of  nerve  and  experience. 
The  man  that  hunts  but  a  few  days  each  year  and  for 
recreation,  who  undertakes  to  hunt  deer  by  following  their 
tracks  in  the  snow,  in  a  strange  woods,  will  be  likely  to 
find  after  he  has  followed  the  deer  all  day,  without  even 
getting  sight  of  him,  that  he  is  many  miles  from  camp,  and 
with  a  very  cloudy  knowledge  as  to  the  true  direction  of 
camp;  and  is,  in  fact,  lost.  This  is  not  a  pleasant  situation 
by  any  means;  he  consults  his  compass,  and  North  is  ex- 
actly where  he  imagined  South  to  be;  in  his  confusion  he 
has  forgotten  whether  the  blue  end  of  the  needle  points 
North  or  South;  the  fact  is,  he  is  completely  turned,  and 
don't  know  anything.  Now,  one  of  the  things  not  to  do  is, 
don't  get  excited.  There  is  not  the  least  occasion  for  it; 
you"  are  not  the  first  man  that  was  lost.  Be  perfectly  calm, 
sit  down  and  take  a  smoke;  if  you  don't;  smoke,  sing  a 
song,  or  repeat  the  multiplication  table,  or  do  anything  to 
keep  from  becoming  excited,  or  panic-stricken.  It  is  not  an 
uncommon  thing  for  old  woodsmen  to  get  turned  around. 
When  you  become  perfectly  cool  and  collected  you  will 
have  some  idea  of  the  direction  of  camp.  If  your  camp  is 
on  a  stream,  or  road,  and  if  the  stream  or  road  run  north  and 
south,  you  certainly  will  know  whether  you  are  on  the  east 
or  west  side  of  it.  If  you  are  on  the  east  side  your  camp 


HUNTING  LARGE  GAME,  AND  WOODCRAFT.        55 

must  be  in  a  westerly  direction,  and  your  compass,  as  a 
rule,  is  right;  if  you  will  travel  by  it  toward  the  west  you 
will  certainly  strike  the  river  or  road.  Carry  your  compass 
in  your  hand,  and  consult  it  often  in  order  to  keep  your 
course.  A  man  who  is  lost  is  inclined  to  travel  in  a  circle, 
generally  to  the  right;  why  this  is  so  has  never  been  satis- 
factorily explained.  Men  have  been  lost  in  the  canebrakes 
of  the  South  who  have  wandered  around  and  around  in  the 
same  circle,  until  they  have  died  from  starvation. 

An  old  bear  hunter  in  Arkansas  told  the  writer  how  he 
worked  it  whenever  he  became  'turned  around  in  a  cane- 
brake.  He  said  he  would  cut  the  longest  and  stiffest  cane 
he  could  find,  then  straddle  it  (as  a  boy  does  a  broom-stick) 
and  walk  straight  ahead,  the  long  cane  preventing  his  walk- 
ing in  a  circle,  and  he  was  sure  to  come  out  soon  by  going 
straight  ahead.  Now,  when  you  get  lost  don't  "quarrel 
with  your  compass,"  it  will  take  you  to  the  river,  or  to  the 
road,  if  you  will  follow  it.  After  you  have  found  the  river, 
or  road,  unless  you  are  quite  familiar  with  either,  it  will  be 
quite  difficult  to  decide  whether  to  go  north  or  south  to  find 
camp.  If  it  is  near  sundown,  it  is  best  not  to  try  either 
direction  until  morning,  but  before  dark  fix  up  a  comfort- 
able camp  for  the  night.  Select  a  large,  green  tree,  on  high 
ground,  for  a  camp-fire.  Build  your  fire  on  the  windward 
side  of  the  tree,  and  prepare  plenty  of  good  wood  for  the 
night.  It  may  be  well  to  say  here,  that  every  man  going 
into  the  woods  should  have  a  good  supply  of  water-proof 
matches;  a  good  substitute,  if  water-proof  ones  cannot  be 
had,  is  to  fill  a  small  vial  with  good  matches  and  cork  the 
vial  tightly;  in  this  way  they  will  remain  dry,  even  under 
water.  Prepare  plenty  of  wood,  as  a  fire  in  the  dark  woods 
is  excellent  company,  and  it  add's  greatly  to  a  man's  courage 
and  keeps  off  wild  animals.  A  good  way  to  keep  a  fire  all 
night  is,  cut  with  your  hatchet  two  sticks,  dry  ones  are  best, 


56 


SPORTSMAN   S     HAND    BOOK. 


about  eight  or  nine  feet  long,  and  as  large  as  you  can  carry. 
Lean  the  sticks  against  the  tree  on  the  windward  side,  with 
the  lower  ends  about  four  feet  from  the  root  of  the  tree, 
and  the  upper  ends  close  together;  stake  the  Jower  ends  so 
they  can  not  roll,  or  slip,  then  build  a  fire  on  the  ends  next 
to  the  tree  with  good,  dry  sticks;  for  kindling,  you  can  find 
some  pitch-wood  on  the  side  of  a  pine  tree  that  has  been 
burnt.  It  will  take  some  little  time  to  get  your  fire  started, 
and  after  it  is  once  started,  as  the  ends  of  the  stick  burnjoff, 
they  will  slip  down  on  the  tree,  and  in  contact  with  fresh 
bark,  which  will  keep  up  the  fire  all  night.  One  large  stick 
is  better  than  two  small  ones,  but  one  man  could  not  handle 
one  that  would  be  large  enough  to  burn  all  night.  This  fire 
is  not  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  you  warm,  but  just  a 


HUNTING  LARGE  GAME,  AND  WOODCRAFT.        57 

sociable  adjunct  to  a  lonely  camp,  and  if  properly  arranged 
it  will  burn  all  night  and  make  a  good  light;  by  exercising 
a  little  ingenuity  you  can, with  brush  poles  and  bark,  have  a 
good,  warm  place  to  sleep  near  the  fire,  on  the  ground  and 
against  the  tree.  Don't  make  the  mistake  most  campers  do; 
that  is,  don't  make  a  great  big  fire,  a  small  one  is  better. 
The  fire  on  the  side  of  the  tree  will  furnish  plenty  of  light. 
Now  that  everything  is  prepared  for  the  night,  in  your  tin 
cup  make  a  strong  cup  of  tea,  and  if  you  have  killed  any 
game,  salt  and  broil  a  piece,  or  with  your  ample  lunch  you 
will  have  quite  a  supper;  as  soon  as  it  is  quite  dark  and  still, 
fire  off  your  gun  two- or  three  times  in  quick  succession;  if 
your  companions  in  camp  hear  you  they  will  reply,  when 
you  can,  by  the  sound,  locate  the  direction  of  your  camp; 
unless  it  is  quite  near,  don't  attempt  to  find  camp  until 
morning.  Following  streams- in  pine  woods  is  very  diffi- 
cult, even  in  the  daylight,  and  next  to  impossible  after 
dark,  as  they  are  invariably  bordered  in  places  with  swamps 
and  thickets.  If  care  has  been  exercised  in  fixing  your 
camp,  you  will  pass  a  comfortable  night,  and  it  will  be  one 
of  the  incidents  connected  with  camping  out  that  you  will 
never  forget.  Old  and  experienced  woodsmen  can,  by  gen- 
eral observation,  and  certain  signs,  very  nearly  tell  the 
points  of  the  compass  in  dark,  cloudy  days,  but  only  men  of 
long  experience  would  think  of  relying  upon  these  means  to 
guide  them  safely  through  the  forest. 

The  mosses  usually  grow  the  heaviest  on  the  north  side 
of  the  trees,  while  the  south  side  is  generally  graced  with 
the  largest  and  longest  limbs.  Trees  blown  down  by  the 
wind  unsually  lie  northeast,  from  the  fact  that  the  prevail- 
ing winds  are  from  the  southwest.  The  most  reliable  sign 
the  writer  has  noticed  is  this:  The  tops  of  pine,  spruce,  and 
hemlock  saplings,  usually  taper  out  into  a  long,  slender 
branch,  and  especially  is  this  true  of  the  pine;  and  this 


58  SPORTSMAN'S   HAND  BOOK. 

long,  slender  branch  invariably  points  east,  or  in  an  easterly 
direction;  that  is,  it  leans  or  points  toward  the  east.  It 
seems  to  be  a  provision  of  nature  for  catching  the  first  rays 
of  the  sun;  the  same  fact  is  noticed  in  the  inclination  of 
house  plants  toward  the  sun. 

When,  by  observation,  you  find  a  large  per  cent,  of  the 
slender  top  branches  of  the  young  trees  pointing  in  about 
the  same  direction,  you  will  find  by  comparison  the  largest 
and  longest  limbs  are  on  the  same  side,  that  direction  is 
surely  the  east,  or  a  little  south  of  east. 

To  recapitulate,  when  you  are  lost  in  the  woods  don't 
get  excited,  or  become  panic-stricken,  and  go  rushing  franti- 
cally through  the  woods,  to  no  purpose,  but  be  cool  and 
level-headed,  and  trust  your  compass,  and  "a  cool  judg- 
ment will  bring  you  out  all  right." 


59 


CARE  OF  AND  CLEANING  GUNS. 


To  prevent  guns  from  rusting  when  duck  shooting  on 
fresh  or  salt  water,  give  the  entire  outside  of  gun,  stock  and 
all,  a  coat  or  two  of  shelac  varnish.  Put  on  in  this  way: 
take  a  piece  of  woolen  cloth,  dip  your  finger  in  linseed  oil 
and  rub  on  the  cloth;  then  put  about  a  half  teaspoonful  of 
best  shelac  varnish  on  where  the  oil  was  put;  then  rub  the 
gun  briskly  with  two  or  three  coats;  there  should  be  just 
enough  oil  on  the  cloth  to  prevent  the  varnish  working 
sticky;  this  will  give  the  gun  a  nice  finish  if  properly  done; 
beyond  a  fine  polish,  no  varnish  will  be  noticed  ;  no  better 
rust  preventive  can  be  found.  The  gun  will  always  look 
new.  So  much  for  the  outside. 

There  are  two  ways  to  look  after  the  inside  of  the  barrels. 
One  is  to  clean  thoroughly  and  oil  well;  in  this  case,  the 
oil  should  be  renewed  occasionally  whether  the  gun  is  used 
or  not;  any  of  the  prepared  oils  called  rust  preventers  are 
the  best  to  use.  A  sure  preventive  against  spots  in  gun- 
barrels  has  not  yet  been  discovered.  Gun  barrels  called 
Damascus  are  the  most  liable  to  get  spotted,  stub  twist  the 
least. 

The  spots  commence  first  at  the  breech  end  and  on  the 
lower  side,  then  gradually  increase  all  around  to\vard  the 
muzzle,  but  rarely  entirely  to  the  muzzle.  It  is  claimed  the 
fulminate  used  in  the  primer  is  to  the  greatest  degree  inju- 
rious. An  unloaded  shell  should  never  be  snapped  in  a  gun 
when  it  can  be  avoided. 

So  long  as  the  rust  spots  are  confined  to  the  breech  end 
of  the  barrels,  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  they  effect  the 
good  shooting  qualities  of  the  gun.  The  writer's  experience 
is,  guns  that  are  cleaned  the  least  inside,  spot  the  least;  in 
other  words,  if  guns  were  not  cleaned  at  all  inside,  they 
would  not  spot  at  all.  This  experience  is  confirmed  by  over- 


60  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  HOUR. 

hauling  guns  that  have  been  lest  in  ponds  while  duck 
shooting.  One  that  was  over  a  year  in  the  water  and  mud, 
the  other  about  six  months  before  found;  the  inside  of  both 
when  cleaned  was  just  as  bright  as  the  day  they  fell  over- 
board. The  outside  of  one  was  ruined  with  rust,  which  is 
certainly  good  .evidence  that  the  residue  of  burnt  powder 
must  be  a  powerful  rust  preventive;  had  the  guns  fallen 
in  the  water  when  perfectly  clean  there  would  not  have 
been  a  single  particle  of  bright  surface  left.  Hence, 
there  can  be  no  better  rule  than  to  clean  and  oil 
the  outside  of  your  gun  every  time  after  using  it,  and  the 
inside  just  before  using  it;  in  this  way  a  gun  will  retain  a 
bright  clear  surface  inside,  longer  than  in  any  other  way. 
To  this  there  is  just  one  exception,  that  is:  in  case  a  gun 
has  been  fired  very  rapidly  until  the  barrels  are  very  hot;  in 
this  case,  the  gun  should  be  cleaned  before  the  barrels  cool, 
if  left  to  cool,  the  burnt  powder  will  bake  on  the  inside 
and  be  very  hard  to  remove;  warm  water  is  best  to  use 
in  this  case,  but  look  well  to  cleaning  the  gun  until  perfect- 
ly dry;  after  using  water  and  before  putting  away,  fire  a  load 
from  each  barrel.  It  may  appear  a  very  slovenly  way  to 
put  away  a  gun  in  a  dirty  condition  inside,  but  the  man 
who  practices  it  will  never  have  occasion  to  regret  doingso, 
if  he  wishes  to  see  bright  clean  barrels  after  they  are 
cleaned. 

Gunlocks  should  be  taken  off  occasionally  and  cleaned; 
if  they  are  much  gummed  up  with  oil  and  dirt,  the  best  way 
to  clean  them  is  to  have  a  kettle  of  hot  rain  water  and  soap, 
make  a  strong,  hot  suds,  tie  a  string  to  each  lock  and  churn 
it  around  in  the  hot  suds  until  perfectly  clean,  it  will  sur- 
prise you  how  quick  it  is  done;  then;  with  a  linen  cloth, 
wipe  well  while  yet  hot;  the  heat  will  thoroughly  dry  all 
the  inside  parts,  then  oil  the  working  parts  with  any  good 
oil.  Rust  preventers  are  not  oil;  for  the  lock,  use  the  best 


CARE  OF  AND  CLEANING  GUNS.  61 

lard  sperm,  or  sewing  machine  oil.  Don't  be  afraid  to 
put  your  locks  in  hot  water;  water  cannot  be  made  hot 
enough  in  an  open  kettle  to  effect  the  temper  in  steel.  In 
removing  the  lock  use  a  smoothe  square  end  screwdriver; 
use  with  care,  so  as  not  to  mar  the  screw  heads.  If 
guns  are  put  away  in  a  woolen  cover  they  will  keep  in  bet- 
ter condition  than  in  any  other  kind.  The  best  gun  cases 
are  heavy  canvass,  lined  with*  sheepskin  that  has  a  good 
coat  of  short  wool;  they  will  keep  a  gun  in  good  condition 
as  well  as  prevent  bruising  them  in  handling. 


62  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

RUST  SPOTS  IN  GUN  BARRELS. 

The    following    communications    appeared    in     Forest 
and  Stream   January    J2,    1882.     They    sufficiently   explain 
themselves: 
Editor  Forest  and  Stream:  COLUMBUS,   O. 

I  wish  to  take  one  more  turn  at  the  wheel  which  has 
been  at  work  of  late  trying  to  grind  the  rust  spots  out  of 
gun  barrels,  and  give  the  crank  a  gentle  turn,  for  I  respect 
the  various  experiences  and  opinions  as  presented  in  your 
columns.  I  have  noticed  very  plainly  that,  while  one 
sportsman  could  find  nothing  but  coal  oil  that  would  keep 
his  gun  in  desired  condition,  another  was  positive  it  would 
not  do.  Others  have  tried  peculiar  remedies  and  have  met 
with  success,  while  there  undoubtedly  still  remain  a  few 
whose  experience  would  be  directly  to  the  contrary.  Often 
have  I  gone  to  my  tent  after  dark,  tired  and  hungry,  and, 
before  I  would  give  any  attention  to  satisfy  my  appetite, 
would  get  out  my  wiping  rod,  tow,  rags,  sperm  oil  and  vas- 
eline, and  go  to  work;  would  rub  and  scrub  and  clean  my 
gun  and  lay  it  away  carefully,  and  then  in  the  morning  take 
•  a  peep  through  the  barrels  and  find  a  spot  here  and  there, 
which  I  gave  credit  to  not  quite  enough  diligence  the  night 
before.  Now,  my  way  is  to  wipe  off  the  outside  and  oil 
properly;  break  the  gun  and  oil  breech  piece,  plungers,  and, 
in  fact,  clean  the  outside,  but  do  not  touch  the  inside  of  the 
barrels,  and  I  am  positive  that  my  gun  is  in  as  good  con- 
dition to-day  as  it  was  when  I  first  tried  the  experiment. 

The  information  that  I  obtained  from  an  old  Californian 
(as  per  Forest  and  Stream,  Oct.  20,  1881)  was  from  Col. 
Horace  Park,  a  resident  gunsmith  of  this  city,  with  whom  I 
am  well  acquainted  and  know  to  be  a  man  with  great  expe- 
rience, and  a  superior  mechanic. 

I  send  to  you  herewith  a  very  interesting  letter,  which 


RUST  SPOTS  IN  GUN  BARRELS.  63 

he  has  kindly  written  at  my  request,  and  I  hope  it  may  be 
of  benefit  to  brother  sportsmen.  FRANK  N.  BEEBE. 


COLUMBUS,  O. 

Gun  barrels  made  of  clean,  refined,  homogeneous  iron 
will  not  get  the  "measles."  My  theory,  from  observation, 
is  that  the  finer  the  grade  of  barrels,  as  our  manufacturers 
grade  them,  the  more  liable  they  are  to  "scab,"  as  I  call  it. 
Take  the  fine  Damascus  barrels  (so-called),  that  is,  the  bar- 
rels, with  the  fine,  beautiful,  curly  figure.  In  the  manufac- 
ture of  such  barrel  the  maker  must  use  great  care  in  welding 
— that  is,  nurse  it  carefully  with  the  hammer  so  as  to  pre- 
serve the  curl  regular.  As  a  result,  the  iron  is  not  so  close 
grained  as  it  would  be  if  spanked  down  right  hard  with  the 
hammer,  without  reference  to  the  shape  of  the  figures,  vas  in 
the  common  barrels.  Of  course  all  understand  that  the  dif- 
ferent figures  and  colors  in  gun  barrels  are  made  by  a  mix- 
ture of  steel  and  iron,  or  different  kinds  of  iron.  In  case  of 
steel  and  iron  being  used,  the  iron — being  softer — will  rust 
easier,  leaving  the  steel  brighter,  clearly  showing  the  figure 
of  the  barrels.  If  not  nursed  much  in  welding,  the  figures 
will  not  be  so  perfect;  but  in  case  of  steel  twist,  or  any  irreg- 
ular twist  made  of  small  scrap  iron  and  steel,  such  as  needles, 
fish-hooks,  nails  and  screws,  the  fagots  are  put  under  a 
heavy  hammer,  and  so  thoroughly  incorporated  as  to  almost 
make  the  iron  of  one  nature  and  texture.  Gun  barrels  made 
in  this  way  will  not  spot  under  ordinary  care.  I  discover 
from  the  various  correspondents  that  the  finer  the  gun  and 
the  more  care,  the  more  they  spot.  I  believe  that  con- 
clusion is  almost  an  axiom ;  but  some  of  your  correspondents, 
on  their  dignity,  appeal  to  "common  sense"  to  prove  such  is 
not  the  case.  If  a  farmer  would  daub  his  plows  with  a  mix- 
ture of  common  blasting  powder  and  water  he  could  leave 


M  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

his  plows  in  the  fence  corner  with  no  fear  of  their  rusting. 
The  real  causes  of  spots  in  gun  barrels  are  various. 

I  believe,  with  one  of  your  correspondents,  that  the 
grades  of  powder  that  are  called  the  best  have  more  or  less 
to  do  with  it.  The  cheaper  grades  of  powder,  in  our  days 
of  adulteration,  have  incorporated  in  them  more-or  less  soda 
in  some  shape.  In  blasting  powder,  soda  is  used  altogether 
instead  of  nitre;  and  soda  is  known  to  be  one  of  the  best  rust 
preventives  we  have.  Any  machinist  who  has  ever  used  a 
solution  of  sal-soda  for  drilling,  or  as  a  drop  on  the  tool 
when  turning  shafting,  knows  the  same  will  not  rust  even  if 
allowed  to  lie  about  the  shop  or  yard  for  months.  I  find 
one  of  your  correspondents  changed  from  the  higher  to  the 
lower  grade  of  powder  and  found  a  cure  for  the  rust  busi- 
ness. I  believe,  in  all  business,  results  are  what  men  are 
after.  I  have  used,  in  comparison,  the  very  best  grades  of 
powder,  from  C.  &  H.  down,  and  have  found  by  actual  expe- 
rience that  just  as  good  results  are  obtained  from  the  lower 
grades  of  our  best  powder  makers. 

I  am  the  "Californian  "  referred  to  by  Mr.  Beebe,  and 
the  fact  referred  to,  that  leaving  your  gun  after  shooting 
without  cleaning  until  the  gun  is  to  be  used  again  would 
preserve  the  inside  in  good  condition,  was  first  brought  to 
my  attention  in  California,  at  Lawson's  Meadow,  on  the 
headwaters  of  the  North  Fork  of  Feather  River,  where  I 
was  prospecting.  In  going  to  the  meadows  I  found  the 
slough  and  bayous  literally  covered  with  ducks  of  all  kinds. 
With  my  rifle  I  could  make  poor  headway  with  the  ducks. 
I  went  to  Mr.  Knight  (who  was  running  a  ferry  and  the  only 
man  living  in  the  meadows  at  the  time)  and  asked  if  he  had 
a  shotgun.  He  had  not;  but  thought  there  was  in  his  wood- 
shed an  old  army  musket  that  some  '49er  had  left  there.  He 
did  not  know  what  condition  it  was  in,  as  he  had  not  seen 
it  for  several  years.  This  was  in  1856.  We  went  in  search 


RUST  SPOTS  IN  GUN  BARRELS.  65 

of  it,  and  finally  found  the  old  musket  buried  in  chips  and 
dirt.  I,  being  a  mechanic  and  iron-worker,  took  off  the 
lock  and  with  a  little  repair  found  that  it  would  work,  but 
it  was  badly  eaten  with  rust.  The  outside  of  the  barrels 
was  coated  with  rust  and  the  stock  nearly  rotted  off.  I  took 
off  the  barrel  and  with  a  hatchet  and  iron  wedge  succeeded 
in  getting  the  breech-pin  out,  it  took  but  a  moment  to  wash 
out  the  gun.  and,  to  my  astonishment,  with  the  exception  of 
two  or  three  inches  of  the  muzzle-end,  the  polish  was  as  per- 
fect as  on  the  day  the  gun  left  the  U.  S.  Arsenal.  The  gun 
had  been  banged  about,  without  cleaning,  for  four  or  five 
years.  The  perfect  condition  of  the  inside  of  this  musket 
led  me  to  the  conclusion  that  the  proper  thing  to  do  was  to 
leave  a  gun,  after  shooting,  without  cleaning — a  practice 
which  I  have  followed  ever  since  and  never  have  had  any 
trouble  with  rust  nor  do  my  barrels  ever  lead. 

Another  sure  test  that  a  gun  will  not  rust  if  left  after 
shooting,  was  furnished  at  the  Licking  Company  reservoir 
near  here,  last  winter.  "Johnnie  Webb,"  as  he  is  famili- 
arly known,  an  old  and  expert  hunter  who  lives  at  the  res- 
ervoir, was  out  shooting,  a  year  ago  last  fall;  and  by  some 
mishap  he  capsized  his  boat  and  lost  his  gun,  a  Parker  fine 
twist.  He  did  not  find  the  gun  until  late  this  summer  after 
the  water  was  very  low.  The  gun  lay  in  the  water  and  mud 
over  six  months.  The  outside  of  the  barrel  was  rusty  and 
eaten  away  until  it  resembled  an  old,  rusty  file,  but  the  inside, 
after  being  wiped  out,  was  bright  as  the  day  it  was  lost  in 
the  water.  I  overhauled  this  gun  myself,  so  I  know. 

There  is  no  preparation  that  I  know  of  that  would  have 
as  well  preserved  the  gun  as  the  burnt  powder  did,  and  it 
confirmed  my  experience  that  it  is  safe  to  put  away  your  gun 
without  cleaning  the  inside;  the  outside  must  be  looked 
after.  One  of  the  best  ways  to  prevent  rust  on  the  outside, 
is  to  take  a  piece  of  heavy  chamois  skin  and  rub  into  it  well 


66  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

some  mercurial  ointment;  wipe  off  your  gun  properly  and 
carefully,  and  you  will  have  no  trouble  with  the  outside. 

Now,  for  the  benefit  of  those  very  nice  men  who  say  to 
leave  your  gun  without  cleaning  after  shooting,  is  a  very 
shiftless,  slovenly  way  of  doing  things,  I  will  say  that  if 
some  ingenious  man  would  get  up  a  preparation  of  the  resi- 
due of  burnt  powder,  put  it  up  in  very  small  bottles,  and 
labeled  in  gilt  letters,  some  outlandish  name,  ending  with 
"rust  preventive,"  these  men  would  buy  it  at  the  rate  of 
fifty  cents  per  bottle,  and  go  to  the  trouble  of  wiping  out 
their  guns  with  it,  and  swear  it  was  perfection. 

No  man,  using  a  medium  grade  of  powder,  will  ever 
have  any  regret  for  putting  his  gun  away  without  cleaning 
the  inside  if  he  will  try  the  experiment. 

Will  some  one,  familiar  with  the  manufacture  of  pow- 
der, give  some  items  through  the  columns  of  Forest  and 
Stream,  as  to  whether  the  best  grades  are  strictly  nitre,  salt- 
petre and  charcoal,  and  whether  the  lower  grades  contain 
soda  in  any  form.  If  by  using  soda,  gun  barrels  will  be  bet- 
ter protected  from  "scabbing,"  I  think  it  would  be  well 
to  know  it.  These  discussions  are  valuable;  let  the  good 
work  go  on.  CALIFORNIAN. 


67 
CAMPING     OUT. 

Nine-tenths  portion  of  the  civilized  human  family  almost 
shudder  at  the  thought  of  sleeping  on  the  ground  in  open 
air;  or  even  in  a  well  regulated  tent.  "  You  will  take  your 
death  of  cold;  "  or  get  the  rheumatism  they  will  say.  Such 
is  not  a  fact,  sleeping  on  the  ground  in  the  open  air,  with 
proper  camping  equipments  is  almost  a  cure  for  all  the  ills 
the  human  flesh  is  heir  to.  The  writer  knows  "whereof 
he  affirms,"  having  camped  out  for  ten  consecutive  years, 
in  all  kinds  of  climates,  under  all  kinds  of  circumstances, 
with  shelter  and  without,  in  mountain  snow  storms,  and  in 
dismal  swamps  without  experiencing  the  evil  effects,  from 
what  most  people  would  call  exposure.  Sleeping  in  a  room 
or  tent  warmed  with  a  stove,  is  much  more  liable  to  produce 
colds  than  sleeping  in  the  open  air.  Take  a  tent  fitted  up 
with  the  ordinary  sheet-iron  camp  stove,  about  bed  time, 
some  member  of  the  party  will  fire  up  by  filling  the  stove 
with  wood  and  pine  knots,  then  retire  ;  the  tent  will  get  as 
hot  as  a  "  torch-light  procession,"  all  will  go  to  sleep  only 
partially  covered,  or  the  blankets  thrown  back,  the  fire  soon 
burns  down  and  you  awake  up  chilled  through,  that  is  you 
have  taken  cold.  Only  by  the  most  judicious  management 
can  a  sheet-iron  stove  be  used  in  a  tent  without  producing 
more  or  less  bad  effects  to  the  occupants.  When  changing 
from  a  long  camping  tour,  to  hotels,  or  houses,  great  care 
should  be  exercised  as  to  the  sleeping  apartments:  Discard 
stoves  or  fire  entirely;  look  well  to  the  ventilation,  see  to  it 
that  one  window  at  least  is  open ;  have  the  bed  in  such  a 
position  that  there  will  be  no  draught  directly  over  the 
sleeper;  no  matter  what  the  weather  is,  be  sure  the  sleeping 
room  is  well  ventilated,  as  there  is  much  more  danger 
of  taking  cold  in  changing  from  out-door  sleeping  to  a 
house,  than,  from  house  to  out-door,  but  more  of  this  when 


68  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

tents  and  camp  outfits  are  referred  to.  One  of  the  evils 
camping  parties  are  almost  sure  to  encounter,  is  too  much 
baggage  ;  extra  baggage  in  camp  is  an  expensive,  useless 
luxury;  a  continual  source  of  annoyance.  Parties  contem- 
plating a  camping  tour,  should  commence  by  studying  how 
little  baggage  they  can  get  along  with.  You  will  be  surprised 
how  little  baggage  is  really  necessary.  Great  big  trunks  are 
an  abomination,  don't  think  of  a  trunk  for  one  moment,  a 
common  farm  grain  sack  will  be  found  most  excellent;  what 
is  better,  is  a  bag  made  of  quite  heavy  canvass  with  a  round 
bottom  something  like  a  U.  S.  mail  bag,  halving  a  row  of 
eyelets  around  the  top  to  lace  it  up  with  a  strap  of  lace 
leather,  (such  as  is  used  for  lacing  machine  belts,)  the  bag 
should  be  a  little  larger  than  a  two-bushel  grain  sack;  it 
will  be  quite  sufficient  to  hold  all  the  clothing  and  baggage, 
including  blankets  necessary  for  one  man  fora  three  months' 
trip.  The  amount  of  baggage  really  necessary  for  one  man, 
is  one  strong  woolen  suit,  two  pair  woolen  shirts,  two  under- 
shirts, two  pair  drawers,  a  half  dozen  pair  socks,  one  coarse 
towel  and  a  piece  of  soap,  one  pair  of  unlined  single-soled 
cowhide  shoes,  the  heels  low,  and  soles  very  broad,  "if 
snow  is  likely  to  be  encountered,  a  pair  of  gum  boots  will 
be  very  convenient,  one  pair  heavy  woolen  blankets,  or  two 
pairs  light  ones,  two  gum  blankets,  or  what  is  better,  get  at 
a  hardware  store  two  pieces  of  gum  cloth,  each  in  size  about 
five  by  eight  feet,  one  for  aground  blanket  and  one  for  the 
outside,  one  small  well-filled  feather  pillow,  a  pocket  comb, 
toothbrush,  and  handkerchiefs,  also  a  few  needles,  thread 
and  buttons;  a  ball  of  strong  twine,  and  a  large  needle. 
All  the  articles  mentioned,  except  the  suit  you  wear,  can  be 
easily  packed  in  the  canvass  bag  mentioned.  The  bag 
should  be  of  the  following  dimensions:  quite  heavy  canvass, 
forty-five  inches  in  circumference,  thirty  inches  long,  a 
round  bottom,  with  eyelets,  etc.  Also  have  a  ring  rivited 


CAMPING    OUT.  69 

with  a  billet  of  leather  on  each  end  of  the  bag,  to  which 
you  can  buckle  a  long  strap  like  a  gun  sling;  this  will  be 
found  convenient  to  handle  it  by,  or  in  carrying,  by  slinging 
the  bag  on  the  shoulder.  Don't  forget  the  pillow,  it  is  one 
of  the  most  important  parts  of  the  outfit.  Don't  think  of 
taking  an  overcoat;  if  the  weather  is  cold,  wear  one  of  your 
blankets  Indian  style,  it  will  be  found  quite  warm  and  very 
much  more  convenient;  with  one  gun  and  one  fishing-rod, 
and  the  outfit  is  complete.  You  will  find  plenty  of  room 
yet  in  the  bag,  for  fishing-tackle,  ammunition,  pipes  and  to-, 
bacco,  for  quite  an  extended  trip, 

Camping  parties  should  consist  of  not  more  than 
four  persons.  It  is  quite  pleasant  to  have  a  number 
of  parties  together,-  but  parties  of  not  more  than  four 
in  number  should  be  absolutely  separate,  and  distinct. 
Each  party  of  four  should  be  composed  of  congenial 
companions;  two  even,  will  be  found  too  many  if  either 
of  them  are  irritable,  peevish,  or  fault  finding.  One 
grumbler  in  camp  will  destroy  the  pleasure  of  the  whole 
trip.  The  man  in  camp  is  a  very  different  being,  from  the 
man  in  society,  as  a  rule;  .therefore,  look  well  for  genial 
companions,  as  very  much  of  the  pleasure  of  the  trip  de- 
pends upon  it.  It  may  be  a  delicate  subject,  but  should  be 
talked  over  earnestly,  and  squarely,  by  parties  starting  out 
on  a  camping  tour  for  the  first  time.  It  will  go  a  long  ways 
toward  preventing  much  unpleasantness,  if  you  have  a  clear 
understanding  that  no  petty  quarrelling,  grumbling,  or 
fault-finding,  will  be  indulged  in  by  any  member  of  the 
party.  This  kind  of  an  understanding  will  put  each  man 
on  his  guard;  in  other  words,  put  him  to  thinking,  and  by 
just  thinking  a  little,  many  trifling  affairs  could  be  turned  to 
fun  that  might  otherwise  irritate.  The  camp  work  should 
be  about  equally  divided  among  the  party,  then  each  mem- 
ber see  for  himself  that  he  attends  to  his  own  part  promptly 


70  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

and  willingly.  Domineering  and  ordering  about  will  be 
found  a  very  poor  lubricant  for  the  camp  machinery.  Just 
remember  the  story  of  the  lark  and  the  farmer.  The  best 
way  when  you  want  anything  done  is  to  do  it  yourself. 
Camping  parties  while  en  route  should  go  into  camp  for  the 
night  quite  early,  then  everything  can  be  prepared  and 
made  snug  by  daylight.  Select  camping  ground  with  refer- 
ence to  wood  and  water;  have  both  plenty  and  convenient. 
When  the  camp  is  just  for  the  night  the  best  place  for  the 
fire  is  against  the  windward  side  of  a  large  green  tree.  The 
heat  will  cause  a  draft  up  the  tree,  which  will  carry  away 
the  smoke  almost  equal  to  a  chimney.  If  the  tree  is  not 
hollow  there  will  be  no  danger  of  burning  it  down  in  one 
night,  or  even  three  or  four.  In  selecting  a  camp-site  for  a 
camp  of  several  days,  or  weeks,  more  care  should  be  taken ; 
when  possible,  select  a  place  sheltered  from  wind  and 
storms  by  hills  or  heavy  growth  of  timber  on  the  side  of  the 
prevailing  storms,  at  the  same  time  out  of  danger  from  fall- 
ing trees  or  limbs;  look  well  to  the  wood  supply;  don't  for- 
get to  ha\e  an  ax  in  kit;  and  for  water,  select  a  running 
stream,  lake,  or  spring.  Too  much  care  cannot  be  taken  as 
to  cleanliness  about  the  camp  grounds;  have  a  certain  place 
for  offal  and  garbage,  and  then  see  that  it  is  all  deposited 
there.  The  offal  of  fish,  game,  etc.,  if  promiscuously  scat- 
tered about,  will  soon  make  the  grounds  filthy  and  unwhole- 
some; this  matter  cannot  be  too  carefully  looked  after.  If 
camping  on  a  running  stream,  in  the  stream  will  be  a  good 
place  to  deposit  the  refuse  of  camp,  if  the  current  is 
sufficiently  swift  to  carry  it  off.  The  following  will  be  about 
the  equipage  necessary  for  a  party  of  four:  One  wall  tent, 
10  by  12  feet  square,  wall  two  or  three  feet  high,  made  of 
8-ounce  duck.  -The  government  wall  tent  is  a  good  one, 
and  will  answer  the  purpose  quite  well,  but  one  of  the 
following  description  is  very  much  better.  A  tent  about 


CAMPING    OUT. 


71 


10  feet  square,  with  a  shed  roof,  the  front  about  9  feet  high, 
the  back  2  feet  high.  The  front  or  highest  side  should  have 
an  awning  running  out,  6  or  8  feet,  something  like  a  porch; 


72  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

the  front  of  the  tent  under  the  awning  should  be  opened, 
from  bottom  to  top,  like  curtains,  so  that  it  could  be 
opened  out  wide,  like  opening  curtains;  at  the  same  time, 
there  should  be  lap  enough  to  close  tight  when  necessary. 
With  this  kind  of  a  tent  a  camp  stove  is  wholly  unneces- 
sary, as  a  fire  properly  built  under  the  edge  of  the  awning 
in  front  of  the  center,  will  keep  the  tent  warm  and  dry  in 
almost  any  kind  of  weather.  Arrange  the  tent  and  fire  as 
follows:  Pitch  the  tent  with  the  opening  to  the  leeward  of 
the  prevailing  winds;  directly  in  front  of  the  opening,  build 
a  backwall  of  logs,  or  poles,  six  or  eight  feet  long,  which  is 
easily  done  by  driving  stout  stakes  in  the  ground,  slanting 
them  back  a  little  from  the  tent;  pile  up  the  logs  or  poles 
against  the  stake,  one  on  top  of  the  other,  (with  the  largest 
in  the  bottom)  two  or  three  feet  high,  or  higher — the  higher 
the  better.  By  having  it  quite  slanting  it  can  be  chinked 
and  a  heavy  coat  of  dirt  or  mud  put  on,  when  'the  backwall 
will  last  almost  indefinitely.  If  boulders  or  stone  are  plen- 
tiful, a  better  backwall  can  be  made  of  them.  For  fire 
dogs  use  short,  good-sized  green  sticks,  or  stones,  to  hold  up 
a  good  fore-stick,  which  will  make  a  fire  quite  con- 
venient for  cooking;  but  little  wood  will  be  required  to 
keep  the  tent  dry  and  warm.  A  small  fire  properly  built 
is  better  to  warm  by  than  a  large  one,  to  say  nothing  about 
the  comfort  of  cooking.  Don't  make  the  mistake  that  most 
campers  do,  by  building  the  fire  so  big  that  you  can't  warm 
by  it.  After  the  tent  is  pitched  and  back-wall  built,  cut  a 
ditch  around  the  whole  business  to  prevent  water  from  the 
rains  from  running  into  the  tent  or  fire.  The  center  of  the 
fire-place  should  be  excavated  about  a  foot  deep  at  least, 
and  allowed  to  fill  up  with  ashes  and  coals;  this  will  be  the 
bake-oven  of  the  camp.  Don't  forget  to  cut  a  good  stout 
poker  of  a  green  limb,  five  or  six  feet  long;  also  cut  a  stake 
from  a  sapling  well  provided  with  limbs,  cut  off  the  limbs, 


CAMPING    OUT.  •    73 

leaving  stubs  five  or  six  inches  long  ;  sharpen  the  big  end 
and  drive  it  firmly  in  the  ground,  on  the  right  side  of  the 
fire-place,  it  will  be  handy  to  hang  up  the  dish-cloths, 
towels,  etc.;  it  will  also  be  a  place  to  lean  the  poker,  as 
well  as  to  hang  a  wooden  hook,  which  will  be  convenient  to 
handle  pots  and  kettles  with.  A  camp  broom  can  easily  be 
made  by  cutting  a  bunch  of  slim  twigs  and  lashing  them 
around  a  stick  of  the  proper  size  for  a  handle.  A  broom 
made  in  this  way  is  quite  serviceable.  Camp  comforts  de- 
pend largely  on  neatness,  ingenuity,  and  industry  of  the 
party.  Time  spent  in  fixing  up  little  conveniences  about 
camp  will  be  well  spent.  Now  comes  the  cooking  outfit. 
This  may  appear  a  little  as  though  the  cart  was  before  the 
horse.  But  inasmuch  as  this  is  not  a  literary  production  in 
any  sense,  it  makes  but  little  difference.  Detail  and  clear- 
ness are  the  points  aimed  at.  The  chest  for  the  mess  kit 
should  be  a  light,  strong  box,  with  a  hinged  lid;  dimen- 
sions about  26  inches  long,  18  to  20  inches  wide,  and  14 
inches  high;  this  is  quite  large  enough  for  the  mess  kit,  of 
four  men.  The  kit  is  composed  of  the  following  articles: 
Four  tin  camp  kettles;  tin  is  much  better  than  iron,  and  will 
last  quite  as  long.  The  largest  one  a  straight  up  kettle 
about  8  inches  in  diameter  and  10  inches  high,  with  a  good 
fitting  lid;  the  next  just  small  enough  to  go  inside  the  large 
one,  lid  and  all,  and  the  third  and  fourth  fit  within  each 
other,  and  in  the  same  manner.  All  four  will  occupy  the 
space  of  the  largest  one;  even  two  more  could  be  fitted  in 
the  same  way,  and  would  be  found  to  be  very  useful.  Two 
common  water  buckets,  two  large  dish  pans,  (one  for  wash- 
ing dishes,  the  other  for  mixing  bread,)  one  of  the  dish 
pans  should  be  about  one  inch  larger  than  the  other  for  the 
purpose  of  converting  the  two  pans  into  a  baker,  which  will 
be  explained  farther  along.  One  large  coffee-pot,  three 
small  mess  pans,  such  as  will  nest,  (two  quarts  each  is  large 


74  SPORTSMAN'S   HAND  BOOK. 

enough)  a  half  dozen  tin  cups  of  the  kind  that  will  also 
nest,  the  common  pressed  tin  cup,  with  the  lower  end  of  the 
handle  loose,  answers  the  purpose;  a  half  dozen  each  of 
tin  plates,  large  and  small  iron  spoons,  knives,  forks, 
and  one  butcher  knife,  one  pepper  box,  one  salt  box,  and 
one  frying  pan.  The  mess  chest  will  hold  all  the  articles 
named,  except  the  water  buckets,  which  can  be  carried 
outside.  One  other  article  would  add  much  to  the  con- 
venience of  cooking,  that  is  a  tin  reflector,  such  as  was  used 
by  the  Pioneer  Mothers  of  this  country.  The  "Land  Look- 
ers "  of  Northern  Michigan  have  a  folding  tin  reflector 
which  they  pack  on  their  backs  during  their  long  tramps 
through  the  woods.  When  folded  it  occupies  but  little 
space,  is  quite  light,  and  the  "boss  thing"  for  most  any 
kind  of  cooking.  The  cooking  is  done  by  reflected  heat, 
so  that  as  soon  as  your  fire  begins  to  burn  you  can  go  to 
cooking  bread,  meat,  or  fish.  For  a  mountain  trip  where 
transportation  by  pack  mules,  or  burros  is  necessary,  the 
camp  kit  should  be  reduced  somewhat,  and  the  box  dis- 
pensed with.  For  the  mess  chest,  substitute  two  empty 
champagne  baskets,  or  regular  packs,  or  baskets  called 
paniers.  The  champagne  baskets  will  answer  quite  well; 
they  are  very  durable,  and  a  pair  of  them  will  hold  a  large 
quantity  and  make  excellent  side-packs  for  an  animal 
Now  for  the  commissary  department. 

"ARTICLE  1190,  U.  S.  ARMY  REGULATIONS." 

A  ration  is  the  established  daily  allowance  of  food  for 
one  person^  for  the  United  States  army.  It  is  composed 
as  follows:  Twelve  ounces  of  pork,  or  bacon,  or  one  pound 
and  four  ounces  of  salt,  or  fresh  beef,  one  pound  and  six 
ounces  of  soft  bread,  or  flour,  or  one  pound  of  hard  bread, 
or  one  pound  and  four  ounces  of  cornmeal,  and  to  every 
one  hundred  rations  fifteen  pounds  of  beans,  or  peas,  ten 


CAMPING    OUT.  75 

pounds  of  rice,  or  hominy,  ten  pounds  of  green  coffee  or 
eight  of  roasted  (or  roasted  and  ground)  coffee,  or  one 
pound  and  eight  ounces  of  tea,  fifteen  pounds  of  sugar, 
four  quarts  of  vinegar,  one  pound  and  four  ounces  of  ada- 
mantine, or  star  candles,  four  pounds  of  soap,  three  pounds 
and  twelve  ounces  of  salt,  four  ounces  of  pepper,  thirty 
pounds  of  potatoes,  when  practicable,  and  one  quart  of 
molasses.  » 

The  army  ration  is  a  good  basis  to  figure  from.  The 
amount  of  supplies  necessary  for  a  given  number  of  men, 
for  a  given  time,  will  be  found  quite  liberal  enough  to  cover 
all  the  necessary  waste  of  camp,  after  liberally  supplying 
the  table.  It  is  not  always  well  to  make  much  allowance 
for  prospective  game  and  fish,  for  that  is  like  "the  Indians 
say  of  the  white  man,  "mighty  uncertain;"  have  each 
separate  article  of  provisions  put  up  in  sacks,  made  of  good 
drilling;  each  sack  should  be  provided  with  a  strong  string 
knotted  at  each  end  and  sewed  fast  to  the  sack — loose 
strings  disappear  about  camp  like  magic.  This  is  the  only 
way  to  keep  provisions  from  getting  mixed  and  wasted. 
Butter  should  be  carried  in  tin  cans;  good  butter  can  be 
procured  in  one  pound  cans,  and  will  be  found  most  con- 
venient. It  is  better  to  pack  the  sacks  of  provision  in  a 
number  of  small  boxes  than  a  large  one,  where  the  trans- 
portation will  be  by  railroad  or  wagon.  Don't  forget  a  few 
pounds  of  nails  and  spikes;  also  a  few  boards  of  light  lum- 
ber can  be  put  in  the  bottom  of  the  wagon  box.  Shakes, 
or  puncheons  can  be  split  out  of  spruce,  orpine;  but  boards 
are  best  for  making  tables,  cupboards,etc.  With  the  material 
named,  and  a  small  amount  of  labor  and  a  little  ingenuity,  a 
cozy  camp  can  soon  be  arranged.  All  hands  should  devote 
one  or  two  days  fixing  up  camp  and  putting  things  in  order. 
A  well-arranged  camp  adds  much  to  the  pleasure  of  camp- 
ing out.  Don't  waste  any  time  making  bunks,  for  without 


76  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

mattresses  they  make  a  very  cold  bed.  The  ground  is  much 
better.  First — With  a  hatchet  cut  off  the  stubs  and  roots 
and  level  the  ground;  then,  for  outlines  for  the  beds,  double 
or  single,  use  poles  at  least  six  inches  in  diameter — one  on 
each  side — the  full  length  of  the  bed;  also  one  across  at  the 
head  and  one  at  the  foot,  then  fill  up  the  inside  with  small 
pine  or  spruce  boughs;  straw  is  better,  if  accessible.  When 
using  boughs,  commence  at  the  foot/with  a  course  across 
eight  or  ten  inches  deep,  then  gradually  shingle  up  to  the 
head,  keeping  up  the  thickness;  if  properly  done  only  the 
tip  ends  of  the  boughs  will  show,  and  if  plenty  is  used  the 
bed  will  be  equal  to  a  spring  mattress;  if  on  the  ground,  it 
will  be  quite  warm,  with  a  limited  amount  of  blankets. 

Hunting  and  fishing  parties,  usually  in  their  eagerness 
to  get  to  hunting  or  fishing,  are  apt  to  neglect  the  comforts 
of  the  camp;  don't  make  this  mistake.  First,  of  all,  put 
your  camp  in  order  that  full  enjoyment  of  the  expedition 
may  be  realized,  for  you  are  just  as  apt  to  get  game  in  sight 
of  camp,  in  a  game  country,  as  by  an  all-day  tramp  in  the 
woods.  There  is  an  old  saying  with  the  hunters,  that  the 
man  that  keeps  camp  usually  kills  the  most  game. 


•77 


CAMP  COOKING— HOW  IT  IS  DONE- 


If  no  cook  is  employed  there  should  be  one  at  least  in 
the  party  who  has  had  some  experience  in  camp-cooking; 
however,  plain  cooking  is  quite  easily  learned.  One  of  the 
most  difficult  problems  about  camp-cooking  is  to  learn  how 
to  build  and  manage  the  fire.  The  backwall  described, with 
a  good  fore-stick  and  small  wood,  is  the  best,  provided  the 
mania  that  average  campers  have  for  an  immense  fire  can  be 
controlled.  Cooking  cannot  be  done  by  a  big  fire  with  any 
satisfaction;  a  small,  snugly-built  fire  is  best,  not  only  for 
cooking,  but  for  warming  purposes.  The  cooking  kit  should 
be  well  supplied  with  dishcloths,  wiping  towels,  and  soap; 
a  yard  or  two  of  common  muslin  will  also  be  found  con- 
venient for  many  purposes. 

MAKING  COFFEE. 

The  ordinary  way  of  making  coffee  is  to  put  a  pot  full 
of  water  over  the  fire  until  it  boils,  then  add  the  ground 
coffee,  about  one  handfull  for  each  man,  and  one  for  the 
pot;  set  the  pot  back  a  little  from  the  fire  to  prevent  it  from 
boiling  too  violently,  as  it  will  immediately  boil  over  and 
waste  the  coffee.  To  prevent  this,  stir  the  coffee  with  a 
stick,  or  caseknife,  until  the  grounds  are  thoroughly  satu- 
rated with  the  water,  when  the  inclination  to  boil  over  will 
cease.  Coffee  should  be  allowed  to  boil  slowly  fifteen  or 
twenty  minutes,  when  the  addition  of  a  little  cold  water 
will  settle  the  grounds,  then  it  is  ready  for  the  table. 
There  is  a  stereotyped  notion  with  most  men  that  coffee 
should  not  be  boiled.  It  is  a  grand  mistake.  The  coloring 
matter  can  be  soaked  out  of  ground  coffee,  but  clear  and 
well-flavored  coffee  can  only  be  made  by  boiling  it,  and  it  is 
the  writer's  firm  belief  that  better  coffee  can  be  made  in  an 
open  pot  than  in  a  closed  one.  Black  tea,  like  coffee,  should 
be  boiled  a  short  time.  Green  tea  should  be  made  by 


78  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

infusion.       Black    tea    is    the    most    wholesome,    and    best 
for  camp. 

PREPARING  AND  FRYING  FISH. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  branches  of  cookery. 
Fish  of  almost  any  kind,  when  properly  prepared  and 
cooked,  are  a  luxury;  but  when  otherwise,  they  are  just  the 
opposite,  rather  disgusting.  In  the  first  place,  fish  should 
be  killed  when  first  caught,  then  put  in  a  basket  and  kept 
perfectly  clean;  what  is  better,  roll  them  in  a  towel  as  they 
are  caught  and  killed,  so  there  will  be  a  thickness  of  towel 
between  each  fish.  No  water  should  be  permitted  to  touch 
the  fish;  then  the  fish,  as  they  come  from  the  water,  are  per- 
fectly clean  and  don't  require  washing.  If  fish  that  require 
scaling,  first  wipe  them  with  a  dry  towel  and  scrape  off  the 
scales  with  a  caseknife;  if  you  want  to  cook  them  with  the 
heads  on,  remove  the  eyes  and  gills.  For  removing  the 
entrails,  from  small  fish,  open  on  the  belly;  large  fish  on 
the  back,  and  cut  out  the  vent.  The  blood  usually  settles 
along  the  spine,  but  can  easily  be  scraped  off  with  the  end 
of  a  caseknife,  or  the  thumb  nail;  then,  with  a  dry  towel, 
thoroughly  wipe  them — the  dryer  the  fish  are  the  better. 
If  spread  out  on  a  board,  and  a  little  salt  sprinkled  over 
them,  and  allowed  to  remain  over  nighl,  all  the  better.  To 
cook  them,  warm  the  proper  amount  of  lard  or  bacon  grease 
in  a  frying-pan,  then  lay  the  pan  nearly  full  of  fish,  of  a 
uniform  size,  salt  and  pepper  to  taste  and  fry  over  not  too 
hot  a  fire;  if  the  fish  are  quite  dry  they  will  cook  done  and 
will  brown  in  a  very  short  time,  when  they  can  be  turned 
over  nicely  without  tearing  them  all  to  pieces.  To  cook 
fish  just  from  the  water  without  time  to  dry  them,  they 
should  be  wiped  dry  and  rolled  in  cornmeal,  flour,  or  pul- 
verized crackers;  even  then  they  will,  in  cooking,  curl  up 
in  the  pan  and  tear  to  pieces  in  turning  them,  and  will  re- 


CAMP    COOKING.  79 

quire  twice  the  time  to  cook.  Venison,  and  all  kinds  of 
meats  that  are  to  be  broiled,  or  fried,  should  not  be  touched 
with  water.  Meats  can,  and  should,  be  kept  clean  without 
washing.  In  boiling  meat  of  any  kind,  for  stews,  always 
have  the  water  boiling  hot  when  the  meat  is  put  in. 

PORK  AND  BEANS. 

There  are  few  dishes  in  camp,  or  out,  equal  to  a  dish  of 
well-cooked  pork  and  beans.  This  is  the  way  to  do  it: 
First,  take  the  quantity  of  beans  you  desire  to  cook,  say  a 
quart,  pick  them  over  carefully  and  remove  all  the  defective 
beans,  sticks,  and  gravel,  then  wash  thoroughly  in  clear 
water,  pour  off  the  water,  and  repeat  until  the  beans  are 
perfectly  clean,  then  put  them  in  a  good  sized  camp-kettle 
with  plenty  of  water,  and  hang  over  the  fire;  as  they  boil 
keep  them  supplied  with  water — hot  water  is  the  best.  It 
is  customary  to  boil  the  beans  a  \\hile  or  parboil,  as  it  is 
called,  then  pour  off  the  water  and  fill  up  with  fresh  water; 
don't  do  it,  if  you  desire  to  retain  the  full  flavor  of  the  beans. 
You  might  just  as  well  parboil  coffee  and  pour  off  and  fill 
up  with  fresh  water,  and  expect  to  have  good  coffee.  Now 
you  have  the  beans  on  the  fire  boiling,  select  a  nice,  fat 
piece  of  pork,  or  bacon,  (pork  is  best)  about  equal  in  bulk 
to  the  beans  ;  be  liberal  with  tire  pork,  and  have  it  all  fat; 
put  the  pork  in  another  kettle  with  water  and  start  it  to 
boiling.  After  boiling  a  short  time  it  will  be  necessary  to 
skim  it  once  or  twice.  It  is  quite  necessary  to  put  on  the 
pork  in  a  separate  kettle,  in  order  to  have  it  quite  done  be- 
fore putting  them  together.  As  soon  as  the  beans  have  cooked 
until  they  are  quite  soft,  which  can  be  ascertained  by  squeez- 
ing one  between  the  thumb  and  finger,  or  when  the  skin 
cracks  and  curls  up;  by  this  time  the  water  on  both  pork  and 
beans  should  be  quite  low,  then  put  all  together  in  one  ket- 
tle, and  allowed  to  cook  until  the  pork  is  very  tender  or  quite 


80  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

soft.  To  be  done  right  it  will  require  several  hours,  and 
when  done  the  water  should  be  about  all  boiled  out.  The 
best  way  to  finish  the  cooking,  after  the  pork  and  beans 
have  been  put  together,  is  to  take  a  piece  of  muslin,  a  little 
larger  than  the  top  of  the  kettle,  remove  the  lid  and  place  the 
muslin  over  the  top  of  the  kettle,  then  force  the  lid  back  to  its 
place;  the  rim  of  the  lid  that  fits  inside  the  kettle  will  carry 
the  muslin  in  with  it,  making  a  tight  joint.  With  a 
sharp  knife  trim  the  surplus  muslin  close  to  the  kettle. 
Now,  if  the  fireplace  has  been  prepared  as  directed,  you 
will  have  the  excavation  full  of  live  coals  and  ashes.  With 
the  poker  scrape  out  the  coals  and  ashes  until  you  have  the 
hole  deep  enough  to  bury  the  kettle,  set  the  kettle  in  quite 
level  and  cover  it  entirely  with  the  hot  ashes  and  coals,  the 
muslin  under  the  lid  will  prevent  any  dirt  from  getting  in; 
let  the  kettle  remain  covered  up  six  or  eight  hours;  over 
night  is  better,  the  beans  will  not  burn.  If  the  directions 
have  been  carefully  followed,  in  the  morning  you  will  have 
a  dish  fit  for  a  king.  The  best  way  to  warm  cold  beans  to 
avoid  burning  them,  is  in  a  frying-pan  over  a  slow  fire. 
Venison,  or  any  kind  of  game,  is  good  prepared  in  the 
same  way  as  the  beans.  Fill  a  kettle  quite  full  of  venison, 
grouse,  rabbits,  squirrels,  or  any  kind  of  meat  or  game, .be 
certain  that  the  kettle  is  quite  full,  and  don't  forget  to  put 
in  two  or  three  good  sized  pieces  of  fat  pork  or  bacon,  then 
fill  the  kettle  with  water  and  put  on  the  fire  to  boil,  add 
pepper  and  salt  to  taste,  then  boil  until  quite  tender,  skim 
occasionally,  if  necessary.  After  the  meat  is  done  and  the 
water  nearly  all  boiled  away,  put  on  a  piece  of  muslin,  as 
with  the  beans,  and  bury  the  pot  in  hot  ashes  and  coals  and 
leave  it  in  over  night,  then  you  will  have  a  pot  of  the  best 
baked  meat  for  breakfast  that  you  ever  ate.  There  is  abso- 
lutely no  other  way  of  cooking  meat  equal  to  this.  Now, 
with  what  is  left  after  breakfast,  (unless  you  have  quite  a 


CAMP   COOKING.  81 

large  kettle)  there  will  not  be  much  left;  but  if  there  is  any 
left  you  can  have  a  splendid  stew  for  dinner  by  adding  a 
little  water  and  a  good  supply  of  pared  and  quartered  pota- 
toes and  a  few  onions,  then  cook  over  a  slow  fire  until  the 
potatoes  are  well  done;  this  will  require  close  watching,  for 
if  the  fire  is  too  hot  it  will  scorch  very  quickly;  the  safest 
way  is  to  surround  the  lower  half  of  the  kettle  with  hot 
ashes  and  coals.  If  this  dish  has  been  properly  attended  to 
four  men  will  get  away  with  a  pile  of  it. 

The  best  prepared  bread  for  camping  is  very  hard-baked 
rye  bread,  hard-tack,  or  Boston  crackers.  Soda  crackers  are 
no  earthly  good.  Rye  bread  baked  thoroughly  brown  all  over 
will  keep  in  a  bag  quite  fresh,  from  ten  days  to  two  weeks, 
and  it  is  a  good,  wholesome  bread.  However,  camping  parties 
should  be  provided  with  flour  and  some  dry  yeast'.  Good 
bread  can  be  made  in  camp,  but  it  requires  more  experience 
than  any  other  kind  of  cooking.  With  the  supply  of  flour 
there  should  be  a  few  cakes  of  yeast,  such  as  are  sold  by 
grocers,  dissolve  one  small  yeast  cake  with  warm  water,  in 
a  two-quart  tin  bucket,  when  the  yeast  is  well  dissolved  add 
flour  and  warm  water  enough  to  fill  the  bucket  one-half  to 
two-thirds  full  of  stiff  batter;  this  should  be  well  stirred 
with  a  spoon,  then  set  the  bucket  near  the  fire  until  it 
foments  and  fills  the  bucket,  then  fill  one  of  the  large  pans 
about  half  full  of  flour;  with  the  hand,  shove  the  flour  out 
to  the  edge  of  the  pan,  making  a  kind  of  nest,  into  this 
pour  the  contents  of  the  bucket,  then  add  warm  water  and 
flour,  stir  with  a  large  spoon  until  you  have  a  very  stiff  bat- 
ter; by  tempering  with  flour  you  can  stir  it  until  you  can 
handle  the  dough  with  the  hands;  work  it  well  until  the 
dough  is  tough  and  smooth,  and  not  too  stiff.  Now  take 
the  other  dish  pan,  (the  one  that  is  about  one  inch  smaller 
than  the  one  you  mixed  the  bread  in)  warm  and  grease  it 
inside  with  a  pork  rind,  then  put  the  dough  or  loaf  in  the 


82  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

pan,  placing  a  piece  of  cloth  over  it  and  put  in  a  warm 
place  and  let  it  raise;  turn  the  pan  around  occasionally  to 
warm  the  dough  equally;  as  soon  as  the  dough  commences 
to  raise  it  is  ready  to  bake.  In  the  meantime,  the  pan  that 
was  used  to  mix  the  bread  should  be  cleaned  and  greased. 
Scrape  out  the  hole  in  the  fireplace  quite  deep  and  place 
in  it  the  pan  of  dough,  have  it  level,  then  turn  the  other 
pan  upside  down  over  the  one  in  the  ashes,  and  cover  the 
whole  with  hot  coals  and  ashes,  cover  quite  deep  and  leave 
it  about  an  hour  and  a  half;  when  you  take  it  out  you  will 
find  you  have  a  loaf  of  bread  filling  both  pans,  with  a  rich, 
brown  crust.  Don't  become  discouraged  if  the  first  trial  is 
a  partial  failure;  however,  it  will  not  be,  provided  your 
yeast  and  flour  are  good.  In  order  to  have  the  yeast  ready 
for  next  baking,  all  that  is  necessary  is  to  fill  the  two-quart 
tin  pails  with  flour  and  warm  water,  with  a  little  salt;  there 
wfll  be  enough  of  the  first  yeast  sticking  to  the  pail  to  cause 
fomentation,  without  adding  fresh  yeast.  If  the  fomenta- 
tion is  too  rapid,  and  the  yeast  stands  two  or  three  days,  it 
will  get  sour;  then,  in  making  bread,  soda  should  be  used, 
just  enough  to  neutralize  the  acid.  However,  unless  the 
weather  is  quite  warm,  good  bread  can  be  made  of  the  yeast 
as  prepared,  without  soda.  Bread  in  this  way  is  so 
wholesome  that  it  will  make  a  man  hungry  to  smell  it  when 
warm.  This  same  yeast,  by  adding  flour  and  water  suf- 
ficiently for  a  stiff  batter,  will  make  the  proverbial  "slap- 
jack," called  by  Californians  "  forty-niners;"  they  are  un- 
wholesome, and  quite  unfit  to  eat.  With  the  reflector 
spoken  of,  biscuit,  as  well  as  good  bread,  can  be  baked  in 
front  of  the  fire  more  conveniently  than  by  burying  in  the 
ashes.  The  reflector  is  also  good  for  cooking  all  kinds  of 
game  and  fish;  in  fact,  the  reflector  is  the  best  arrangement 
for  out-door  cooking  that  can  be  had.  The  best  sauce  for 
-camp  is  pressed  prunells;  they  are  pressed  into  hard  cakes; 


CAMP    COOKING.  83 

they  occupy  but  little  space,  and  are  easily  prepared  by  add- 
ing sufficient  water  and  sugar  and  stewing  them  over  a  very 
slow  fire.  They  are  quite  tart,  and  for  sauce,  with  any  kind 
of  game,  are  as  good  as  cranberries. 

In  fitting  out  camp  equippage  where  it  is  necessary  to 
transport  by  pack-mule  or  burro,  over  mountain  trails,  it 
would  jpe  well  to  dispense  with  some  of  the  cooking  uten- 
sils, also  the  mess  chest;  in  fact,  all  kinds  of  boxes,  as  they 
are  heavy  and  quite  inconvenient  to  pack  on  mules,  unless 
there  is  an  experienced  packer  in  the  party,  or  one  who  has 
had  some  experience  in  mountain  hunting.  For  a  pack- 
saddle  the  Mexican  aparejo  is  the  best,  but  for  the  totally 
inexperienced,  the  Indian  or  Government  pack-saddle  is  the 
best.  If  regular  paniers  can  be  had,  you  will  have  the  best 
possible  arrangement.  The  Mexican  panier  is  a  strong  wil- 
low basket,  something  like  an  office  waste  basket,  but  larger, 
with  the  side  that  is  next  to  the  pack-saddle  flat,  the  re- 
maining sides  an  oval,  and  larger  at  the  top  than  bottom. 
Judging  from  memory,  the  bottom  should  be  about  10  by 
24  inches,  the  top  16  by  24  inches,  and  20  inches  deep. 
Two  such  bapkets  strapped  together  at  the  flat  sides  of  the 
larger,  or  open  ends,  makes  a  set  for  one  pack  animal.  The 
straps  should  be  strong  and  buckled,  that  baskets  can  be  ad- 
justed the  proper  distance  apart,  to  rest  firmly  on  the  pack- 
saddle,  or  aparejo.  If  regular  basket  paniers  cannot  be  had, 
pouches  made  of  leather  or  heavy  canvass  can  be  made, 
something  like  a  very  large  pair  of  old-fashioned  saddle- 
bags. The  pouches  should  be  closed  with  a  flap  or  cover, 
buckled  dowrn;  either  pouches  or  paniers  are  very  con- 
venient for  packing  on  animals,  and  your  traps  are  more 
easily  managed  than  without  them.  To  put  a  pack-saddle 
or  an  aparejo  on  a  mule  properly,  thereby  preventing  sores 
on  his  back,  is  the  great  secret  in  successful  packing. 
Much  depends  upon  fitting  on  the  saddle  and  having  the  load 


84  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

about  equally  balanced.  To  saddle  the  pack-animal  first 
put  on  the  saddle-blanket;  over  this  there  is  no  objection  to 
putting  one  of  the  camp  blankets;  the  blankets  should  ex- 
tend well  down  the  animal's  side,  then  put  on  the  saddle  or 
aparejo,  put  on  the  crupper  and  adjust  the  saddle  in  the 
proper  position,  then  run  one  hand  under  the  blankets,  on 
the  animal's  withers,  and  raise  up  the  blankets  cleaj  of  the 
animal's  backbone,  then  cincho  very  tight.  A  cincho  is  the 
broad  band  used  to  fasten  the  pack-saddle;  it  goes  entirely 
around  the  saddle,  as  well  as  the  animal.  On  the  ends  of  the 
cincho  are  large  rings;  to  one  of  the  rings  is  fastened  a  long 
leather  strap  called  a  latago.  This  strap  should  be  wreathed 
through  both  rings,  like  a  tackle  block,  which  gives  a  good 
purchase.  It  requires  the  strength  of  two  men  to  cincho  a 
pack-saddle  properly.  The  animal  will  "hump  his  back" 
and  make  some  fuss,  but  no  difference,  it  must  be  "cin- 
choed  "  tight  for  the  animal's  good,  for  if  the  saddle  is  loose  it 
will  soon  chafe  sores  on  his  back.  When  paniers  or  pouches 
are  used,  blankets  can  be  folded  up  in  square  packages  and 
piled  on  top  the  paniers;  if  you  have  no  paniers  or  pouches 
everything  but  blankets  should  be  put  in  strong  bags,  each 
separate  article  of  provision  in  small  bags;  then  put  into 
two  large  bags.  These,  when  packed,  should  be  about 
equal  in  weight.  Hang  the  two  bags  together  with  a  sling 
rope,  one  on  each  side,  in  the  proper  position  quite  high  up 
on  the  animal's  side,  pack  blankets  on  top  of  all;  then  the 
whole  business  is  fastened  on  with  a  long  rope,  generally  a 
raw-hide  one,  called  a  lash  rope.  Lashing  on  the  pack  is 
the  most  difficult  part  of  packing,  yet  quite  simple  to  expe- 
rienced packers.  Here  is  a  description  of  how  it  is  done, 
but  it  is  almost  impossible  to  make  it  intelligible  in  writing: 
The  lash-rope  (only  one  to  an  animal)  should  be  about 
twenty-five  feet  long,  twisted  or  braided  raw-hide  is  best, 
about  five-eighths  of  an  inch  in  diameter;  on  one  end  of 


CAMP   COOKING.  85 

the  lash-rope  should  be  fastened  to  a  short  wide  cincho,  to 
the  other  end  of  cincho  a  stubby  wooden  hook,  made  of  the 
forked  limb  of  any  tough  wood;  it  requires  a  man  qn  each 
side  of  the  pack  to  do  the  lashing.  The  man  on  the  near 
side  of  the  animal  takes  the  lash-rope  and  throws  the  end 
that  has  no  hook  on  out  to  the  rear  of  the  animal  on  the 
ground.  See  that  is  well  stretched  out  without  kinks,  draw 
the  rope  over  the  pack  lengthwise — that  is  from  tail  toward 
head  of  the  animal — throw  the  cincho  or  hook  end  under 
the  animal's  belly,  for  the  man  on  the  other  side;  then  cast 
over  the  pack  the  rope  doubled,  the  doubled  part  must  go 
over  the  part  of  the  rope  laying  on  the  pack,  the  opposite 
man  must  hook  the  loop  end  of  the  double  rope  on  the  wooden 
hook,  then  the  part  of  the  long  end  of  the  rope  laid  the  length 
of  the  pack ;  that  is,  the  left  hand  rope  must  be  thrown  around 
the  right  corner  of  the  pack,  over  to  the  right,  passed  back 
under  the  rope  around  the  animal  and  around  the  left 
corner  of  the  load,  then  the  long  end  of  the  rope  should  be 
cast  in  a  loop  over  the  opposite  side  of  the  pack,  pass  the  end 
under  the  left  hand  rope;  that  is,  over  or  across  the  pack, 
then  everything  is  ready  for  drawing  up.  The  man  on  the 
off  side  must  draw  the  rope  through  the  cincho,  hook  as 
tight  as  he  can;  the  man  on  the  near  side  takes  up  the 
slack  and  follows  it  around  the  pack,  drawing  the  rope 
tight  as  he  goes,  then  fasten  the  end  by  tucking  two  or 
three  times.  If  properly  put  on,  the  two  ropes  across  the 
pack  will  form  a  diamond  on  top  the  pack.  The  short  sides 
of  the  diamond  will  be  drawn  front  and  rear  of  the  center  of 
the  pack,  by  the  rope  as  it  was  placed.  This  description 
would  be  quite  clear  to  a  man  after  he  sees  the  thing  done, 
but  whether  from  the  description  a  man  could  do  it,  is 
another  thing.  The  writer  has  attempted  to  make  it 
quite  plain,  but  finds  it  very  difficult  to  do.  Unless  the 
pack  is  well  lashed  on  it  will  be  a  source  of  trouble  continu- 


86  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

ally,  and  will  have  a  tendency  to  make  sores  on  the  animal's 
back.  Two  good  pack  mules  can  carry  a  sufficient  camp 
outfit  for  four  men,  including  blankets,  provision,  cooking 
utensils,  tent,  etc.,  for  a  ten  days'  or  two  weeks'  trip;  how- 
ever, in  this  case,  game  and  fish  must  be  looked  after.  If 
saddle  horses  are  used  by  the  party  each  man  can  carry  on 
his  horse,  lashed  to  the  saddle,  quite  a  portion  of  the  equip- 
page,  especially  blankets.  Pack  mules  will  carry  from  two 
to  three  hundred  pounds  from  twelve  to  fifteen  miles  each 
day,  over  mountain  trails  with  ease.  With  an  experienced 
man  as  packer,  and  to  look  after  the  horses,  a  party  of  four 
or  five  could  have  a  jolly  time  in  any  of  the  mountains  of 
the  western  territories,  especially  on  the  Pacific  slope,  where 
game  and  trout  abound  in  almost  unlimited  numbers. 

The  large  game  of  the  west  is  fast  disappearing  at  the 
hands  of  the  skin  hunters.  The  writer  spent  from  the  15th 
of  last  July  to  October  1st,  in  the  territories  of  Montana, 
Wyoming,  Idaho  and  Washington  without  even  seeing  any 
fresh  buffalo  signs,  but  was  told  that  a  few  mountain  bison 
were  still  high  up  in  the  mountains  of  the  Yellowstone 
Park.  Bear,  deer  and  elk  are  yet  quite  plenty.  Antelope 
are  quite  scarce,  compared  to  a  few  years  ago,  but  the 
mountain  streams  are  swarming  with  trout,  and  will  be  for 
years,  as  many  of  them  will  be  rarely  visited  by  any  but  the 
boldest  mountaineers. 

For  mountain  travel  there  is  no  way  equal  to  saddle 
horses  and  pack-mules;  the  baggage  need  only  be  limited 
by  the  number  of  pack  animals.  The  intelligence  of  a  well 
conditioned  pack-mule  is  phenomenal;  a  source  of  continual 
interesting  enjoyment  to  watch  their  ingenious  maneuvers 
in  climbing  rugged  places,  fallen  timber,  and  tangled 
thickets.  For  saddle,  as  well  as  pack  animals,  mules  are 
better  than  horses;  they  are  surer-footed,  hardier,  require 
less  care,  and  will  carry  a  man  safely  where  a  horse  would 


CAMP    COOKING.  87 

fail.  However,  it  is  well  to  have  one  horse  in  the  party  ; 
the  mules,  from  some  unaccountable  reason,  will  become  at- 
tached to  a  horse  that  they  are  permitted  to  associate  with. 
This  is  quite  convenient,  as  when  in  camp  all  that  is  neces- 
tary  to  keep  the  mules  in  the  vicinity  is  to  hobble  the  horse 
by  strapping  his  fore  feet  together  about  seventeen  or 
eighteen  inches  apart.  A  regular  hobble  is  a  short  piece  of 
chain,  a  ring  at  each  end;  also  straps  and  buckles.  Buckle 
a  strap  around  each  fore  leg,  between  hoof  and  fetlock,  the 
chain  connecting  the  two;  the  horse  will  soon  learn  to  get 
around  sufficient  to  procure  all  the  food  necessary.  Don't 
be  uneasy  abeut  the  mules,  they  will  under  no  circum- 
stance leave  the  horse  very  far.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
carry  feed  for  the  animals;  if  camps  are  properly  selected 
there  will  always  be  quite  sufficient  grass  and  browse  for  any 
number  of  animals,  turned  loose  as  directed. 

There  are  many  advantages  in  this  way  of  traveling, 
probably  the  most  important  is  the  perfect  freedom  and  inde- 
pendence, go  where  and  when  you  please,  and  not  necess- 
arily confined  to  trails  or  roads,  but  can  make  excursions  to 
unfrequented  points  of  interest  that  would  be  absolutely  im- 
possible to  reach  in  any  other  way.  It  is  the  only  satisfactory 
way  to  do  the  National  Park.  Of  course,  progress  is  slower, 
but  much  more  satisfactory;  besides,  time  spent  in  mountain 
excursions,  like  the  chase,  "is  not  counted  in  the  length  of 
life."  This  is  another  case  where  a  man  should  not  begrudge 
the  time.  From  twelve  to  fifteen  miles  a  day  is  all  that 
should  be  required  of  a  full-laden  pack  animal;  this  distance 
can  be  made  in  from  four  to  six  hours  easily.  If  only  about 
this  distance  is  habitually  traveled  the  animals  soon  under- 
stand it  and  will  endeavor  to  make  the  distance  in  the  least 
possible  time;  they  will  require  no  urging.  But,  on  the 
contrary,  if  irregularity  is  practiced  as  to  distance  and  num- 
ber of  hours  on  the  road,  the  animals  will  become  indiffer- 


88  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

ent  lazy  and  stubborn,  and  will  require  constant  urging;  in 
fact,  three  times  the  labor  to  make  the  same  distance  as  it 
would  where  regularity  of  distance  was  adhered  to  by  mak- 
ing regular  distances  of  from  twelve  to  fifteen  miles;  very 
early  starts  are  unnecessary,  the  distance  can  be  made  and 
give  ample  time  to  fix  up  camp  before  dark.  By  going  into 
camp  early,  the  animals  will  have  plenty  of  time  to  feed  and 
at  night  lie  down  and  rest.  They  will  again  in  the  morn- 
ing have  time  to  feed  while  you  are  leisurely  getting  break- 
fast and  striking  camp.  An  animal  properly  managed  and 
properly  packed,  will  neither  get  a  sore  back,  nor  poor  in 
flesh.  The  most  economical  way  for  a  party  to  make  a 
mountain  tour  of  a  few  weeks,  or  months,  is  to  purchase 
outright  the  whole  outfit  of  pack  and  saddle  animal.  If  a 
party  of  four,  it  pays  to  hire  an  experienced  packer  to  look 
after  the  animals  and  attend  to  the  packing;  one  that  under 
stands  the  business  would  also  be  a  good  mountaineer — all 
the  guide  necessary  to  have.  The  animals  and  outfit  by 
judicious  management,  at  the  ead  of  the  trip  will  bring  all 
they  cost,  or  nearly  so.  It  will  be  found  very  much  cheaper 
than  to  hire  the  outfit  by  the  day.  For  tjie  northern  territo- 
ries the  native  horse,  called  cayouse,  is  tough,  sure-footed, 
an  excellent  climber,  and  usually  of  a  good  disposition, 
fully  equal  to  the  mule  for  riding  or  packing.  But  for  Cali- 
fornia, Texas  and  Mexico,  the  mule  is  preferable  to  the 
mustang  or  lower  country  horse,  both  for  riding  and 
packing.  As  a  rule,  mules  are  more  tractable;  they  soon 
form  attachment  to  persons,  as  well  as  things.  The  only 
attachment  that  will  keep  the  average  mustang  within 
bounds  is  a  good,  strong  picket-rope,  well  staked. 

In  selecting  an  outfit  of  saddle  and  pack  animals,  it  is 
well  not  to  be  in  too  great  a  hurry.  Try  the  animals  under 
the  saddle,  note  their  dispositions,  also  try  the  pack  animals 
with  packs  on;  it  will  pay  to  take  time  to  select  animals  of 


CAMP    COOKING.  89 

good  dispositions  and  well  broken;  that  have  no  bad  habits, 
such  as  kicking  and  bucking.  See  that  they  have  sound 
backs  and  that  their  tails  are  not  crupper-sore.  Don't  re- 
ject a  mule  on  the  account  of  a  big  belly;  if  everything 
else  is  all  right,  big  bellied  mules  are  the  kind  to  stay 
with  you  through  thick  and  thin.  For  a  riding  saddle, 
select  the  best  of  the  California  pattern  with  the  fewest  trap- 
pings; by  using  the  kind  that  has  two  cinchos,  the  crupper 
can  be  dispensed  with.  A  few  days  spent  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  starting  point  will  be  well  spent;  in  fact,  it  is  the  only 
way  that  a  perfect  outfit  can  be  secured.  Two  or  three  days 
will  be  ample  time.  Learn  just  what  is  necessary,  as  well 
as  what  is  unnecessary,  then  be  governed  accordingly. 

MEDICAL  DEPARTMENT. 

Camping  parties  should  have  a  limited  supply  of  sim- 
ple remedies,  such  as  tincture  of  aconite  and  quinine  for 
fevers,  a  bottle  of  camphor  and  a  bottle  of  whisky,  also 
some  good  liniment,  a  roll  of  mustard  plaster  and  some  ad- 
hesive plaster  and  a  roll  of  bandages;  also  a  good  diarrhoea 
mixture;  but  it  is  best  to  consult  a  physician.  How- 
ever, the  above  will  be  found  all  that  is  necessary.  Fevers 
brought  on  by  exposure  and  over-exertion  can  be  corrected 
by  a  few  doses  of  tincture  of  aconite,  followed  by  a  few 
doses  of  quinine.  Aconite  is  a  virulent  poison,  and  must 
be  taken  in  small  quantities;  three  drops  as  a  dose,  every 
hour,  for  a  few  hours,  will  usually  reduce  ordinary  fevers, 
then  take  three  or  four  3-grain  quinine  pills,  two  hours 
apart.  The  bottle  of  whisky  mentioned  is  strictly  for 
medicinal  purposes,  and  must  be  kept  for  emergencies. 

If  a  supply  of  whisky  is  taken  along  to  be  used  as  a 
beverage,  don't  in  any  event  drink  in  the  morning  before 
breakfast.  One  drink  in  the  morning  will  do  more  damage 
than  a  half  dozen  will  repair  afterward.  "  Don't  forget  it." 


90  SPORTSMAN'S   HAND  BOOK. 

Camping  parties  are  really  better  with  no  whisky  ex- 
cept that  which  is  strictly  for  medicine.  To  parties  that 
insist  on  having  a  supply  for  drinking  purposes,  take  the 
advice  of  an  old  campaigner,  and  do  all  the  drinking  in  the 
afternoon  and  evening. 


FISHING  WITH   HOOK  AND  LINE. 

The  subject  of  fishing  has  been  fully  written  up  over 
and  over  by  many  good  writers — fly  fishing,  especially. 
Theory  after  theory  has  been  advanced,  all  kinds  of  signs 
taken  into  account,  the  wind,  weather,  etc. 

Often,  luck  comes  in  for  a  large  share,  or  some  great 
secret  is  connected  with  the  art.  This  brings  to  memory  a 
story  in  Campfire  Flickering,  published  in  the  Forest  and 
Stream,  of  a  man  that  was  noted  for  his  success  as  a  fisher- 
man. So  much  so  that  the  opinion  that  there  was  some 
great  secret  connected  with  it,  or  known  to  him,  had  become 
general.  A  member  of  a  fishing  party  one  day,  thinking  .to 
get  some  advantage  over  others  of  the  party,  thought  he 
would  possess  himself  of  the  secret  by  a  slick  species  of  bribery. 
He  called  the  noted  lucky  fisherman  to  one  side,  slipped  a 
five  dollar  bill  in  his  hand,  and  slyly  asked  him  the  secret 
of  his  success.  The  old  man  pulled  his  head  down  and 
solemnly  whispered  in  his  ear,  "When  you  get  a  bite,  jerk." 
The  art  of  fishing  can  not  be  learned  from  books  no  more 
than  watch  making. 

To  be  a  successful  fisherman  requires  patient  persever- 
ance, industry  and  devotion.  Fish  are  frightened  more  by 
moving  objects  than  anything  else.  The  habits  of  fish  and 
the  likely  places  to  find  them  can  only  be  learned  by  observa- 
tion and  study.  Find  the  likely  places,  move  about  cau- 
tiously, keep  out  of  sight  as  much  as  possible,  then,  "when 
you  get  a  bite,  jerk." 


HOW  TO  PRESERVE  FISH.  91 

HOW  TO  PRESERVE  FRESH  FISH  IN   WARM  WEATHER. 

A  simple  and  effectual  mode  of  preparing  fresh  trout, 
or  any  other  kind  of  fish  so  they  can  be  preserved,  perfectly 
fresh  and  good,  for  from  seven  to  ten  days,  at  any  time  of 
the  year,  and  in  almost  any  climate. 

Trout,  as  well  as  other  fish,  should  be  killed  as  soon  as 
caught,  and  never  be  permitted  to  again  touch  water;  fish 
will  keep  longer,  and  retain  their  flavor  better,  than  by 
attempting  to  keep  them  alive  in  the  water,  or  permitting 
them  to  die  out  of  the  water. 

To  prepare  trout,  kill  them  as  soon  as  they  are  caught, 
keeping  them  in  a  clean  basket,  box,  or  creel,  and  free  from 
water.  When  you  have  caught  a  sufficient  quantity  to  make 
a  package,  prepare  them  as  follows:  With  a  dry  towel  or 
cloth,  wipe  them  clean  and  dry,  open  them  on  the  belly 
for  the  purpose  of  removing  the  entrails;  then  with  the 
thumb,  or  a  round  bladed  knife,  scrape  the  blood  from  the 
back  bone,  then  remove  the  gills,  also  the  eyes,  as  the  fluid 
from  the  eyes  would  give  the  fish  an  unpleasant  flavor; 
now,  again  wipe  them  dry;  the  more  thoroughly  this  is 
done,  the  better  they  will  keep;  then,  from  the  inside,  split 
the  fish  through  the  backbone  to  the  skin  on  the  back, 
then  sprinkle  salt  over  the  open  fish  and  rub  it  well  in, 
using  just  enough  to  properly  season  the  fish  when  cooked, 
close  the  sides  together  so  the  fish  will  look  natural,  then 
spread  them  over  night  on  a  dry  log  or  board  for  the  purpose 
of  cooling.  The  nights  where  trout  are  usually  caught  are 
cool, — sufficiently  so  for  this  purpose:  In  the  morning,  before 
sunrise,  carefully  fold  the  fish  in  dry  towels,  in  rows,  dis- 
tributed in  such  a  manner  that  there  will  be  a  fold  of  the 
towel  between  each  fish;  this  must  be  done  with  care,  then 
carefully  wrap  the  whole  package  snugly  in  a  piece  of 
muslin,  then  with  a  coarse  needle  and  thread,  sew  the  pack- 
age close  and  tight;  wrap  again  in  a  piece  of  woolen 


92  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

blanket,  or  a  whole  one  is  better,  and  sew  the  ends  and 
sides,  being  certain  to  have  sufficient  coverings  of  cloth  and 
woolens,  now  put  the  roll  in  a  stout  paper  bag,  such  as  is 
used  for  flour,  then  tie  tightly,  and  the  thing  is  done. 

Fish  in  this  manner  can  be  sent  from  Maine  to  New 
Orleans,  even  in  August,  and  preserved  fresh  and  nice.  The 
more  care  bestowed  in  preparing  them,  the  better  they  will 
keep.  The  fleshy  parts  of  venison  can  be  preserved  in  the 
same  way. 

Fishing  and  hunting  parties  desiring  to  send  fish  or  game 
to  distant  friends,  in  warm  weather,  can  do  it  in  this  way 
with  perfect  assurance  that  they  will  arrive  sweet  and  whole- 
some, if  they  have  been  careful  in  preparing  them. 


93 
MISCELLANEOUS  RECIPES. 

VARNISH    FOR   JOINTED    RODS. 

Dissolve  in  pure  alcohol,  a  sufficient  quantity  of  the 
best  orange  shellac,  to  give  the  mixture  a  consistency  of  thin 
varnish,  apply  with  a  piece  of  woolen  cloth,  first  putting  a 
little  linseed  oil  on  the  cloth  with  your  finger,  then  quite  a 
dab  of  varnish,  with  this  rub  briskly  to  a  polish.  Just 
enough  oil  should  be  used  to  prevent  the  varnish  from 
becoming  sticky.  Five  or  six  coats  is  not  too  much,  then 
with  a  small  brush,  give  the  wrapping  an  extra  coat;  for  the 
wrappings/coach  varnish  is  the  best.  In  this  manner  go 
over  your  rods  once  or  twice  each  season,  and  they  will 
always  look  new.  Always  keep  a  small  bottle  of  varnish 
with  your  tackle;  each  time  the  rod  is  used  the  wrappings 
will  be  the  better  if  a  little  varnish  is  used. 

The  shellac  varnish  is  the  best  for  gun  stocks,  rubbed 
on  in  the  same  way  as  on  your  rod,  it  is  also  good  to  pre- 
vent the  rusting  of  the  barrels  and  trimmings  when  shoot- 
ing on  salt  water. 

TO  COLOR    FISH    LINES,  AND    GUT    LEADERS,   NEUTRAL   TINTS. 

Soak  them  over  night  in  green  tea,  or  coffee,  or  a  solu- 
tion of  indigo.  For  gut  leaders,  Arnold's  ink,  with  a  little 
vinegar  added,  is  the  best;  allow  them  to  remain  'over  night 
in  it. 

LOTION  AND  PREVENTATIVE  FOR  MOSQUITO  AND  GNAT  BITES. 

Oil  of  pennyroyal,  four  ounces;  olive  oil,  eight  ounces; 
pine  tar,  two  ounces;  mix  well  and  apply  until  a  good  coat- 
ing of  varnish  is  established. 

ANOTHER. 

Olive  oil,  two  ounces;  tinct.  camphor,  two  drachms; 
carbolic  acid,  one  drachm;  acetic  acid,  one-half  drachm;  oil 


94  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

of  cedar,  one  drachm;  oil  of  pennyroyal,  one  drachm.     Mix, 
and  apply,  as  with  the  first. 

Another,  is  to  wash  with  strong  carbolic  s(  ap,  and  dry 
without  wiping. 

WATER    PROOFING    FOR     LEATHER    BOOTS  — DON'T     LOOK     FOR 
ANY    OTHER. 

Boiled  linseed  oil  with  a  very  little  lamp  black;  apply 
a  coat  each  morning  for  several  days,  and  after,  as  often 
as  is  required;  this  will  make  leather  as  near  water  proof 
as  is  possible.  » 


DOGS. 

ANTIDOTE  FOR    STRYCHNIA  POISONING. 

Camphor  gum  is  all  that  is  necessary.  A  lump  of  cam- 
phor gum,  the  size  of  the  end  of  your  thumb,  shoved  down 
the  dog's  throat  will  cure  him  even  after  he  has  had  spasms. 
This  is  reliable. 

CURE    FOR    DISTEMPER. 

Give  three  drops  of  the  tincture  of  aconite  root  every 
hour,  for  from  six  to  ten  hours.  After  the  fever  is  clearly 
reduced,  give  three  quinine  pills,  of  three  grains  each,  giving 
one  every  two  hours,  until  the  pills  are  all  taken.  If  the 
dog's  bowels  are  free,  this  is  all  that  is  necessary.  The  best 
way  to  give  the  aconite  is,  drop  three  drops  on  a  small  piece 
of  raw  meat,  if  the  dog  will  eat,  if  not,  drop  it  on  his 
tongue,  and  be  careful  to  give  him  not  more  than  three 
drops,  for  this  remedy  is  a  very  active  poison,  and  an  over- 
dose would  speedily  prove  fatal. 

TO  CLEAR  A  DOG  KENNEL  FROM  FLEAS. 

Sprinkle  the  straw,  or  bedding  with  dilute  carbolic  acid, 
and  a  good  way  to  kill  them  on  a  dog  is,  take  one  part  of 


OBSERVATIONS    OF  THE  WEATHER.  95 

carbolic  acid,  and  thirty  parts  of  water,  wash  the  dog  thor- 
oughly once  a  week,  for  four  weeks.  This  will  surely  kill 
them;  and  used  in  the  same  manner  and  for  the  same  length 
of  time,  will  cure  mange,  and  almost  any  skin  disease  that 
dogs  are  heir  to. 

CURE  FOR  CANKER  OF  THE  EAR,  EXTERNAL  OR  INTERNAL. 

If  internal,  clean  out  the  ear  by  filling  it  with  warm 
suds,  made  with  carbolic  soap,  knead  the  ear  well  with  the 
hands,  then  with  a  quil  or  small  bellows,  blow  the  ear  full 
of  pulverized  lodoform.  If  external,  after  cleaning  the 
ear  with  carbolic  soap,  sprinkle  on  the  sore  the  same  remedy 
you  used  in  the  internal  case.  If  there  is  not  an  absolute 
cancer,  this  will  effect  a  cure. 


Observations  of  the  Weather,  Through  the  Lunations  of 
the  Moon.— (Herschell.) 

"The  nearer  the  time  of  the  moon's  change,  first  quarter, 
full,  and  last  quarter,  are  to  midnight,  the  fairer  will  be  the 
weather  for  the  following  seven  days;  the  range  is  from  ten 
at  night  to  two  next  morning.  The  nearer  midday,  or  noon, 
the  phases  happen,  the  more  foul,  or  wet,  the  weather  may 
be  expected  during  the  following  seven  days,  the  range  for 
this  calculation  is  from  ten  in  the  forenoon,  until  two  in 
the  afternoon. 

"These  observations  refer  principally  to  the  summer, 
though  the  spring  and  autumn  are  nearly  in  the  same  ratio." 


SNOODING  HOOKS. 

The  following  letter,  signed  Californian,  and  published 
in  the  Forest  and  Stream  February,  1885,  covers  the  whole 
ground,  and  as  the  writer  of  this  book  and  Californian  is 
the  same  individual,  it  is  here  reproduced  in  full: 


96  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

SNELL,  SNOOD,  GIMP. 

If  the  inquirers  through  the  Forest  and  Stream  will  try 
the  following  plan  for  fastening  snells  to  hooks  they  will 
never  have  occasion  to  complain  of  them  slipping  off: 

Get  a  roll  of  rubber  cement  such  as  is  used  to  fasten 
bicycle  tires,  (it  can  be  procured  where  bicycles  are  sold) 
warm  the  shank  of  the  hook  in  a  lamp  sufficient  to  melt  the 
cement,  then  draw  the  shank  of  the  hook  across  a  piece  of 
the  cement  and  enough  will  adhere  to  answer  the  purpose. 
Let  it  cool  for  a  second  to  prevent  it  from  sticking  to  the 
fingers,  then  press  the  end  of  the  snell  on  in  just  the  position 
you  wish  it  to  remain.  After  allowing  the  cement  to  stiffen 
a  little  more  wrap  with  good  thread,  and  if  you  have  just 
the  proper  quantity  of  cement  and  the  right  consistency  the 
wrapping  thread  will  bury  into  the  cement  smoothly;  it 
will  be  perfectly  waterproof  and  stick  to  the  business  under  all 
circumstances.  The  cement  also  answers  well  to  waterproof 
thread  or  cord  for  wrapping;  use  as  you  would  cobbler's 
wax. 

The  best  way  to  snood  hooks  with  silkworm  gut  is,  in- 
stead of  fastening  the  gut  directly  to  the  hook,  to  fasten  a 
small  loop  of  relaid  linen  line  No.  5  to  the  hook  as  directed 
for  snell.  The  loop  should  be  quite  small,  not  over  one- 
eighth  of  an  inch.  Then  prepare  the  gut  by  tying  a  loop  at 
each  end,  one  for  attaching  the  hook  through  the  small  loop 
on  hook,  the  other  for  attaching  the  line.  Many  advantages 
are  gained  by  this  method,  the  gut  is  double  near  the  hook, 
it  also  forms  a  flexible  joint  and  avoids  the  annoyance  of 
chafing  or  breaking  off  by  being  bent  short;  in  case  a  hook 
is  broken  another  can  be  easily  attached  to  the  same  gut. 
Hooks  and  gut  can  be  carried  separately  and  attached  when 
required  for  use.  If  flies  were  tied  in  the  same  manner 
many  anglers  would  find  fewer  occasions  to  lose  their  religion 
by  having  their  flies  break  off  where  the  gut  joins  the  hook. 


SNELL,  SN7OOD,  GIMP.  97 

Canoeists  will  find  this  rubber  cement  excellent  for  stop- 
ping leaks  in  canoes,  either  joint-cracks  or  holes;  quite 
large  holes  can  be  fixed  up  with  it.  For  cracks  or  joints, 
with  a  hot  iron  or  small  stone,  melt  and  rub  the  cement 
well  in,  leave  a  small  streak  of  the  cement  over  the  crack  or 
joint.  For  mending  a  hole  take  a  piece  of  canvas  or  boot 
leg  large  enough  to  cover  the  hole  with  about  one  inch  lap 
all  around.  With  a  hot  iron  or  stone  smear  over  the  patch 
with  a  good  coat  of  rubber  cement,  also  smear  around  the 
edges  of  the  hole,  then  heat  the  patch  quite  hot  and  press  it 
in  place.  Then  smear  over  the  whole  business  with  cement, 
using  the  hot 'iron  or  stone.  The  cement  will  harden  in  a 
short  time,  when  it  will  require  no  further  looking  after. 
This,  of  course,  is  only  for  cases  of  emergency.  To  fix  a 
hole  permanently  it  should  be  cut  out  square  or  oblong  with 
slightly  beveling  edges,  then  neatly  fit  a  piece  of  wood  to 
the  hole,  smear  the  edges  of  the  piece  as  well  as  the  edges 
of  the  hole  with  rubber  cement;  have  it  quite  warm,  then 
press  the  piece  in  place;  if  well  done  it  will  neither  come 
out  nor  leak.  No  canoeist's  or  angler's  kit  is  complete  with- 
out a  roll  of  rubber  cement.  It  is  multum  in  parvo;  try  it. 


Instant  Relief  for  Cramp  or  Wind  Colic. 

The  severest  cramp  colic  can  be  cured  by  simply  stand- 
ing on  the  head  for  a  few  seconds.  This  is  an  Indian  cure, 
and  a  good  one. 

Standing  on  the  head  can  be  easily  accomplished  by 
putting  your  head  and  hands  on  the  ground  at  the  butt  of 
a  tree,  throw  the  body  and  legs  against  the  trunk  of  the 
tree.  By  the  assistance  of  a  companion  it  is  quite  easy 
done;  a  few  seconds  is  all  that  is  necessary. 


98 


SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 


o 

a 


PQ 


P, 

et 
in 


99 
GOOD  STRONG  GLUE  WATERPROOF. 

Alcohol,  (spirit  of  wine)  1  pint;  sandarac,  1  ounce; 
mastic,  1  ounce;  common  white  turpentine,  1  ounce;  glue 
and  isinglass,  sufficient;  water,  sufficient.  Dissolve  the  two 
resins — sandarac  and  mastic — in  the  spirit,  and  then  add  the 
turpentine  to  the  solution.  Make  some  very  strong  glue, 
and  add  to  it  a  good  pinch  of  isinglass.  Now  heat  the  alco- 
holic varnish  until  the  liquid  begins  to  boil,  and  then  very 
slowly  stir  in  the  warm  glue.  The  amount  of  the  liquid 
glue  to  be  added  is  determined  by  noting  the  point  at  which, 
after  thorough  mixture,  a  magma  or  a  thin  paste  is  formed 
capable  of  being  easily  strained  through  cloth.  When  re- 
quired for  use,  the  strained  mixture  is  to  be  warmed  and 
applied  like  ordinary  glue  to  the  articles  to  be  united.  A 
strong  junction  is  effected,  which  is  not  destroyed  by  cold 
water,  and  only  after  a  con  paratively  considerable  time,  by 
hot  water  or  ordinary  saline  solutions. — British  Journal  of 
Photography. 

ETHER    GLUE. 

An  excellent  liquid  glue  is  made  by  dissolving  glue  in 
nitric  ether.  The  ether  will  only  dissolve  a  certain  amount 
of  glue,  consequently  the  solution  cannot  be  made  too  thick. 
The  glue  thus  made  is  about  the  consistency  of  molasses, 
and  is  doubly  as  tenacious  as  that  made  with  hot  water.  If 
a  few  bits  of  india  rubber,  cut  into  scraps  the  size  of  buck- 
shot, be  added,  and  the  solution  be  allowed  to  stand  a  few 
days,  being  stirred  frequently,  it  will  be  all  the  better,  and 
will  resist  the  dampness  twice  as  well  as  glue  made  with 
water. 

GLYCERIN  CEMENT. 

A  cement,  said  to  be  capable  of  use  where  resistence  to 
the  action  of  both  water  and  heat  is  required,  is  composed 


100  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

by  mixing  ordinary  glycerin  with  dry  litharge,  so  as  to  con- 
stitute a  tough  paste.  For  uniting  the  joints  of  steam  pipes 
and  other  similar  applications,  this  preparation  is  said  to  be 
very  satisfactory. 

WEIGHT  OF  AIR   AND  WATER. 

One  cubic  foot  of  air  weighs  523  grains.  One  cubic 
inch  of  water  weighs  .03617  Ibs.  One  cubic  foot  of  water 
weighs  62^  Ibs.  One  cubic  foot  of  ice  weighs  58^  Ibs. 
One  cylindrical  inch  of  water  weighs  .02842  Ibs.  One  cylin- 
drical foot  of  water  weighs  49.1  Ibs. 

RUBBER     BOOTS 

can  be  patched  as  follows:  Rub  the  patch  and  boot  thor- 
oughly with  sharp  sand  paper.  Smear  both  with  liquid 
rubber  five  times,  every  time  letting  them  dry.  Do  this 
once  more,  and,  before  they  dry,  apply  the  patch,  with 
pressure,  if  possible,  and  the  boot  is  mended.  If  liquid  rub- 
ber is  not  obtainable,  dissolve  small  pieces  of  rubber,  not 
vulcanized,  in  warm  spirits  of  turpentine  to  the  consistence 
of  molasses  in  summer. 

RELIABLE  RECIPES. 

For  corns,  easy  shoes;  for  bile,  exercise;  for  rheuma- 
tism, new  flannel  and  patience:  for  gout,  toast  and  water; 
for  the  toothache,  a  dentist;  for  debt,  industry;  and  for  love, 
matrimony. 

TO  KEEP  GUM  ARABIC    FROM  MOLDING. 

Solutions  of  gum  arabic  soon  mold  and  sour,  and  finally 
lose  their  adhesive  property.  It  is  said  that  sulphate  of 
quinine  will  prevent  this,  while  it  imparts  no  bad  odor  of  its 
own.  The  addition  of  a  solution  of  a  few  crystals  of  this 
salt  to  gum  arabic  will  prevent  the  formation  of  mold  quite 
as  effectually  as  carbolic  acid,  and  by  analogy  it  is  safe  to 
suppose  that  the  same  salt  could  be  used  in  writing  ink, 
mucilage,  and  possibly  glue. 


MISCELLANEOUS    RECIPES.  101 

BROWN    TINT    FOR    IRON    AND    STEEL. 

Dissolve  in  four  parts  of  water,  two  parts  of  crystallized 
chloride  of  iron,  two  parts  of  chloride  of  antimony  and  one 
part  of  gallic  acid,  and  apply  the  solution  with  a  sponge  or 
cloth  to  the  article,  and  dry  it  in  the  air.  Repeat  this  any 
number  of  times,  according  to  the  depth  of  color  which  it  is 
desired  to  produce.  Wash  with  water  and  dry,  and  finally 
rub  the  articles  over  with  boiled  linseed  oil.  The  metal 
thus  receives  a  brown  tint  and  resists  moisture.  The  chlo- 
ride of  antimony  should  be  as  little  acid  as  possible. 

TO    TAN    SMALL    SKINS. 

When  taken  from  the  animal,  let  the  skins  be  nailed  in 
the  shape  of  an  oblong  square  on  a  board  to  dry,  fur  side 
down.  Before  taking  them  from  the  board,  clean  off  all  the 
fat  or  oily  matter  with  a  dull  knife.  Be  careful  not  to  cut 
the  skins.  When  you  wish  to  tan  them,  soak  thoroughly  in 
cold  water  until  soft;  then  squeeze  out  the  water,  and  take 
of  soft  water  three  quarts,  salt  half  a  pint,  and  best  oil  vit- 
roil  one  ounce  Stir  well  with  a  stick,  and  put  in  the  skins 
quickly,  and  leave  them  in  thirty  minutes.  Then  take  them 
in  your  hands  and  squeeze  (not  wring)  them  out,  and  hang 
in  the  shade,  fur  side  down,  to  dry.  If  you  get  the  quantity  of 
liquor  proportioned  to  the  skins,  they  will  need  no  rubbing 
to  make  them  soft;  and,  tanned  in  this  way,  the  moths  will 
never  disturb  them. 

BUFFALO    ROBES. 

These  are  not,  strictly  speaking,  leather,  as  they  are 
prepared  without  the  use  of  bark  or  tannin  in  any  form. 
They  are  simply  a  raw  hide  made  sott  and  pliable  by  manip- 
ulation and  the  use  of  grease  or  oil,  The  Indian  process,  in 
principle,  is  the  same  we  use  in  making  our  soft  leathers, 
chamois,  buckskin,  lash  or  string  leacher,  etc.  The  Indian 
women,  in  making  buffalo  robes,  first  "flesh"  and  pare  down 


102  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

the  green  hide  with  a  bone,  toothed  something  like  a  saw, 
and  knives.  They  then  cover  it  on  the  flesh  side  with  the 
brains,  blood,  liver,  grease  and  the  contents  of  the  gall  blad- 
der of  the  buffalo  or  elk.  This  is  thoroughly  worked  in 
near  a  fire  or  in  the  sun.  They  then,  after  the  hide  is  par- 
tially dried,  work  it  over  a  beam  or  rope  until  it  be- 
comes soft  and  flexible.  They  sometimes  make  a  species 
of  leather  by  taking  off  the  wool  by  the  use  of  lime,  and 
then  preparing  it  as  above,  smoking  it  thoroughly.  The 
hide  of  the  buffalo  is  covered,,  not  with  hair,  but  with  a  true 
wool,  which  has  the  property  of  felting  or  fulling,  arid  out 
of  which  cloth  can  be  manufactured. 

CEMENT    FOR    LEATHER. 

Ten  parts  of  carbon  bisulphide  and  one  part  oil  of  turpen- 
tine are  mixed,  and  as  much  gutta  percha  added  as  will 
readily  dissolve.  The  surfaces  of  leather  must  be  freed, 
with  a  hot  iron,  from  fat,  and  the  parts  once  joined  should 
be  well  pressed  until  they  are  firmly  united. 


103 


HOW  TO    SKIN  BIRDS. 


For  the  following  very  instructive  and  interesting  article 
on  skinning  and  preparing  bird  skins  for  mounted  specimens, 
I  am  indebted  to  Prof.  Oliver  Davie,  a  leading  taxidermist  of 
Columbus,  Ohio,  also  author  of  the  "Naturalist's  Manual" 
and  "Egg  Check  List  of  North  American  Birds"  It  will 
undoubtedly  prove  very  beneficial  to  many  sportsmen  who 
desire  to  preserve  specimens  as  trophies  of  their  skill 
and  sport's: 

COLUMBUS,  OHIO. 

'*  Many  a  rare  bird  has  come  to  the  hands  of  the  naturalist 
that  would  otherwise  have  been  lost  and  perhaps  never 
recorded,  in  a  particular  locality,  were  it  not  for"  the  sports- 
man, and  nearly  every  person  who  has  handled  a  gun  has, 
in  the  course  of  his  experience,  taken  specimens  that  for 
their  beauty  or  rarity,  and  also  as  trophies  of  a  day's  hunt, 
would  like  to  preserve  them  for  future  inspect4on  by  them- 
selves and  friends. 

To  be  able  to  skin  and  prepare  a  bird  for  mounting  in  a 
proper  manner  is  an  accomplishment  which  few  sportsmen 
have  acquired.  It  is,  however,  very  simple,  and  with  a  little 
patience  and  care  can  easily  be  done,  and  with  this  end  in 
view,  I  will  make  my  directions  as  clear  as  possible,  and  tell 
how  to  skin  a  bird. 

In  the  first  place,  we  need  something  in  the  way  of  a 
preservative  to  put  on  the  skin.  Common  dry  arsenic  is  the 
article  most  generally  used  because  it  is  the  most  convenient, 
and  when  pure,  and  properly  applied,  it  certainly  is  a  good 
thing.  Arsenical  soap  is  also  used  and  is  better  in  many 
respects,  but  is  not  so  convenient. 

It  is  a  well  known  fact  that  arsenic  in  the  form  of  a 
powder  is  very  injurious  to  the  health.  Many  a  taxidermist 
has  met  with  serious  results  after  long  and  constant  use  of 


104  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

dry  arsenic  which  leaves  its  effects  by  being  inhaled  while 
dusting  it  on  skins.  This  however,  would  not  be  the  case 
with  a  person  who  would  only  occasionally  find  use  for  it. 
Furthermore,  the  common  dry,  powdered  arsenic  that  is 
usually  sold  at  the  apothecary  shops  is  of  such  an  inferior 
quality — rendered  so  by  adulteration — that  its  effects  as  a 
preservative  are  of  little  consequence,  and  dry  arsenic,  no 
matter  how  pure,  has  not  the  penetrating  powers  as  some- 
thing of  a  similar  nature  in  a  liquid  form.  I  therefore 
introduce  a  new  Arsenical  Solution  which  is  a  most  powerful 
and  effectual  preservative,  although  it  is  not  any  more  con- 
venient than  arsenical  soap.  I  give  it  here  for  those  who  may 
desire  to  use  it.  It  can  be  applied  to  the  skin  of  birds  and 
mammals  in  various  ways  with  the  most  gratifying  results, 
and  while  the  principal  ingredient  of  this  solution  is  pure 
crystallized  arsenic  it  is  not  injurious  to  the  health,  as  is  the 
dry  pulverized  arsenic.  It  is  made  as  follows:  Take  one 
pound  of  crystallized  arsenic  and  one-half  pound  of  bicar- 
bonate of  soda,  add  to  this  five  pints  of  water;  boil  the 
whole  down  to  three  pints  over  a  slow  fire — stirring  frequently 
to  prevent  the  arsenic  and  soda  from  settling  to  the  bottom. 
It  is  a  good  idea  to  first  break  the  large  pieces  of  arsenic  in 
order  that  they  may  quickly  dissolve.  When  cold  it  is 
ready  for  u$e.  By  mixing  a  quantity  of  Spanish  whiting 
with  a  small  amount  of  the  liquid  until  it  forms  a  very  thin 
paste,  it  is  ready  to  be  applied  to  skins  by  the  use  of  a  brush. 

Now,  as  we  have  the  preservative  before  us,  the  next 
procedure  is  to  skin  the  bird.  In  removing  the  skin  from 
a  bird,  the  body,  if  fat  or  bloody,  should  be  dusted  with 
cornmeal,  as  this  prevents  the  plumage  from  becoming  soiled. 
The  knife  used  should  be  sharp,  especially  toward  the  point, 
and  a  pair  of  scissors  are  very  convenient,  although  not 
altogether  essential. 

Fill  the    mouth  and    nostrils   with   cotton    in    order   to 


HOW    TO    SKIN    BIRDS.  105 

prevent  liquids  or  juices  escaping  and  soiling  the  feathers. 
Now,  lay  the  specimen  on  its  back  and  separate  the  feathers. 
They  will  open  along  the  abdomen  where  a  bare  strip  of 
skin  can  be  seen  from  the  breast  to  the  tail.  Hold  the 
feathers  thus  separated  with  the  thumb  and  finger  of  the 
left  hand,  and  make  an  incision  along  the  middle  line  of  the 
abdomen,  almost  from  the  top  of  the  breast  bone  full  to  the 
vent.  Take  hold  of  the  cut  edge  of  the  skin  and  press  the 
flesh  of  the  abdomen  down  from  it  with  the  side  of  the  knife. 
Never  pull  on  the  skin,  but  press  the  flesh  away  from  it. 
Carefully  raise  each  side  of  the  skin  as  far  as  the  legs.  Bend 
the  knee  joints  up  through  the  opening  and  cut  them  off. 
Skin  the  legs,  scraping  the  flesh  from  the  bones,  but  leaving  the 
bone  of  each  leg  in  place.  Loosen  the  skin  as  far  down 
toward  the  back  as  possible.  Now  stand  the  specimen  up  on 
its  breast  and  bend  the  tail  down  toward  the  back.  Cut  it  off 
at  the  joint  very  slowly,  cutting  only  a  little  at  a  time  to 
make  sure  that  it  is  flesh  and  not  skin  you  are  severing.  You 
are  also  to  be  careful  not  to  cut  through  <he  quills  of  the 
tail  feathers;  if  cut  they  will  often  drop  out. 

The  bird  may  now  be  hung  head  downward,  by  a  hook 
inserted  in  the  exposed  stump  of  the  rump;  and  with  a  little 
care,  the  skin  may  be  gradually  stripped  off  as  far  as  the  wings ; 
the  wings  are  to  be  severed  from  the  body,  inside  the  skin, 
at  the  shoulder  joint.  At  this  stage,  the  wings  themselves 
are  to  be  separately  skinned;  detaching  the  secondaries 
from  the  ulna;  scraping  the  bones  thoroughly  and  removing 
the  humerus  or  single  bone  of  the  wing  entirely.  This 
method  of  skinning  the  wing  is  only  applied  to  small  birds. 
Always  leave  all  but  the  head  of  the  humerus  in  good-sized 
birds.  Never  detach  the  secondaries  from  the  ulna  in  birds 
the  size  of  Cooper's  Hawk  and  upwards,  for  in  order  to  do 
good  work  on  a  large  bird  if  it  should  ever  be  mounted,  the 
secondaries  must  be  attached  to  the  bone.  Especially  is  this 


106 


SPORTSMAN'S   HAND  BOOK. 


the  case  where  the  bird  is  to  have  the  wings  spread.     When 
the   secondaries  are  detached  it  is  impossible  to  give  them 

the  even  and  regular  spread  that  they  have  in  nature. 
f 

The  muscles  and  tendons  can  be  removed  by  making  a 
cut  on  the  under  side  of  the  wing,  from  the  elbow  to  the  wrist ; 
this  ciU  can  afterwards  be  neatly  sewed  up  and  the  feathers 
will  fall  smoothly  to  their  place  and  cover  the  seam.  As 
soon  as  the  wings  have  been  severed,  the  skin,  which  by 
this  time  will  have  been  turned  inside  out,  will  easily  slip 
along  the  neck  as  far  as  the  head.  To  skin  the  latter  is  the 
most  difficult  part  of  the  job,  and  must  be  carefully  done  or 
the  skin  will  tear. 

The  head  should  be  skinned  close  down  to  the  base  of  the 
beak,  especially  in  front  of  the  eyes.  The  eyes  are  to  be 
picked  out,  and  the  triangular  portion  of  the  skull,  together 


Skin   Brady  for  Re-turning. 


HOW    TO    SKIN    BIRDS.  107 

with  the  flesh  between  the  jaws  and  the  brain  is  to  be 
removed,  leaving  the  sides  and  top  of  the  skull  attached 
to  the  bill.  The  skin  above  the  eyes  and  ears  is  closely 
adherent  by  membrane  to  the  bone  and  must  be  detached 
with  great  care. 

In  the  general  process  of  skinning  after  the  first  incis- 
ion, little  if  any  use  of  the  knife  or  scalpel  is  required,  except 
to  sever  the  legs,  tail  and  wings,  to  work  about  the  eyes 
and  ears,  and  to  remove  the  base  of  the  skull.  The  cut- 
ting may  be  better  done  with  the  scissors  than  with  the 
knife.  The  skins  of  most  birds  slip  off  very  easily  and 
can  usually  be  detached  with  the  thumb  nail.  In  the 
cases  of  Woodpeckers  some  Ducks  and  a  few  other  birds, 
the  heads  of  which  are  too  large  in  proportion  to  the 
caliber  of  the  neck  to  be  skinned  as  heretofore  directed, 
this  part  must  afterward  be  separately  skinned  by  an 
incision  made  from  the  outside  along  the  middle  line  of 
the  skull.  This  is  done  after  the  body  has  been  severed 
from  the  skull  and  the  skin  returned. 

If  the  above  process  has  been  properly  conducted  the 
skin  has  been  turned  inside  out.  The  arsenic  ma"y  now  be 
applied  to  every  part  of  the  skin.  Especially  the  head, 
wings,  legs  and  tail  should  be  heavily  coated  with  it.  The 
arsenical  solution  which  1  have  recommended  elsewhere  in 
this  chapter  will  take  the  place  of  arsenical  soap  in  aiding 
the  skin  to  slip  easily  over  the  head. 

Now  fill  the  eye-sockets  with  pellets  of  cotton  the  size 
of  the  bird's  eye  and  the  skin  is  ready  to  be  turned  right 
side  out.  Never  ««  bung  out  "  a  bird's  eyes  by  putting  too 
much  cotton  in  the  sockets  or  orbits.  Be  particularly  careful 
about  this  in  Hawks  and  Eagles,  who  have  deep  set  eyes, 
which  should  be  pressed  inward  rather  than  distended. 


108 


SPORTSMAN  S    HAND     BOOK. 


After  the  skin  has  been  turned  right  side  out  and  the 
feathers  of  the  head,  neck  and  wings  are  nicely  adjusted, 
the  wing-hones  of  opposite  sides  should  be  tied  with  thread 
inside  the  skin  as  near  together  as  the  back  of  the  natural 
body  of  the  bird  is  broad. 

Fill  the  neck  with  a  strip  of  loose  cotton,  pushing  it  up 
into  the  mouth  with  a  slender  stick  or  spring  forceps.  Fill 
the  rest  of  the  skin  with  the  same  material,  but  if  the  bird 
is  a  large  one  common  tow  is  always  best  for  a  filling.  Now, 
smooth  the  feathers  over  the  opening  and  place  a  narrow 
band  of  paper  around  the  bird  or  place  the  bird  in  a  dry- 
ing-board like  the  accompanying  cut  which  is  made  by 


DRYING- BOARD. 


tacking  heavy  paper  on  a  board.  There  are  several  methods 
of  sewing  the  wings  to  the  skin  which  are  unnecessary  to  give 
here,  as  the  skins  made  by  the  sportsman  will  probably  be 
mounted  before  they  are  many  weeks  old,  and  if  the  skin  is 


HOW    TO    SKIN    BIRDS. 


109 


nicely  adjusted  in  the  paper  belt  or 
drying-board  it  will  answer  all  pur- 
poses. The  name  of  the  bird,  sex 
and  locality  and  date  of  capture 
should  be  recorded  on  the  slip  of 
paper.  When  dry,  it  can  be  dropped 
head  foremost  into  a  paper  cone,  and 
the  end  folded  over  and  pinned. 

This  is  what  is  technically  called 
a  "skin,"  and  is  the  only  practical 
way  to  preserve  birds  while  on  an 
excursion. 

Hundreds  of  skins  will  occupy 
but  a  comparatively  small  amount  of 
space,  and  they  can  be  "wet  up" 
and  mounted  at  any  time. 

When  it  is  desired  to  ship  birds 
in  the  flesh  they  should  have  the 
mouth,  nostrils  and  vent  tightly  filled 
with  cotton  to  keep  the  feathers  from 
becoming  soiled  by  any  of  the  juices 
that  are  liable  to  escape. 

It  is  impossible  to  ship  birds  in 
the  flesh  in  warm  weather  without 
taking  the  entrails  out  and  then  sat- 
urating the  inside  and  the  throat 
well  with  carbolic  acid.  All  speci- 
•mens  shipped  in  this  way  should  be 
carefully  wrapped  in  paper,  placed 
in  a  box  and  marked  "Perishable, 
shipped  by  express. 


and    in    all    cases 


110 


SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 


How  to  Remove  and    Preserve  the   Skins   of   Animals. 

A  sportsman  may  at  sometime,  be  desirous  of  having 
a  large  or  small  animal  mounted  and  yet  not  know  how  to 
proceed  to  skin  it  properly  for  the  purpose.  For  this  rea- 
son I  give  the  following  simple  directions,  which,  if  followed 
closely,  will  bring  about  satisfactory  results: 

The  first  opening  cut  should  be  made  along  the  under 
side  of  the  animal  from  the  throat  to  the  base  of  the  tail. 
Do  not  cut  through  the  lips  or  vent.  The  tail  must  be  slit 
open  along  the  under  side  about  an  inch  or  two,  according 
to  the  size  of  the  animal,  above  the  root  all  the  way  to 
the  tip,  as  shown  by  the  dotted  lines  in  Fig.  1. 


FIG.   1. 

The  dotted  lines  shew  where  large  animals  must  be  slit  open  for  the 
purpose  of  skinning. 


HOW 'TO    PRESERVE    SKINS.  Ill 

Begin  at  the  center  cut  and  slit  the  legs  down  as  far  as 
the  knee  joint  in  the  fore  legs,  and  down  to  the  hock  joint 
in  the  hind  legs.  Now  make  a  slight  turn  and  continue  the 
cut  down  the  back  part  of  the  leg  to  the  foot,  as  shown  by 
the  dotted  lines  in  Fig.  1.  These  are  all  the  opening  cuts 
that  are  necessary  to  skin  a  large  animal,  except  when  it  has 
horns.  It  is  then  necessary  to  make  an  opening  at  the  back 
of  the  neck  and  cut  completely  around  the  base  of  the  horns 
as  shown  by  the  dotted  lines  in  Fig.  3. 

Lift  the  skin,  beginning  at  the  middle  of  the  abdomen, 
and  cut  it  neatly  from  the  carcass,  leaving  little  or  no  flesh 
adhering  to  it.  Detach  the  skin  as  much  as  possible  from 
the  legs  and  continue  skinning  until  you  come  to  where  the 
fore  leg  joins  the  body  at  the  shoulder  and  the  hind  leg  at 
the  hip.  Cut  through  the  muscles  of  the  shoulder  and  hip 
and  thereby  detach  the  legs  entirely  from  the  body.  You 
have  now  severed  the  legs  from  the  carcass  and  they  lie 
before  you.  Cut  all  the  flesh  and  tendons  from  them,  but 
have  the  bones  attached  to  each  other  by  their  natural  liga- 
ments. The  next  thing  to  do  in  large  animals  is,  to  cut  the 
leg  bones  off  at  the  first  joint  above  the  foot,  at  the  lower 
end  of  what  is  called  the  sesamoid  bone.  They  should  now 
be  tied  in  a  bundle  and  always  shipped  with  the  skin. 

Never  throw  away  the  leg  bones  of  any  animal  which 
you  intend  to  have  mounted.  A  taxidermist  must  have  the 
leg  bones  and  skull  in  order  to  do  accurate  work.  Detach 
the  skin  down  the  back  to  the  neck  and  cut  the  ears  off  close 
to  the  head  and  skin  as  much  of  them  as  possible.  Con" 
tinue  until  you  come  to  the  eyes.  Be  very  careful  here  or 
you  will  cut  through  the  eye  lids.  Cut  slowly  and  keep  as 
close  to  the  socket  as  you  can.  You  will  now  notice  a  thin 
membrane;  through  this,  cut  and  continue  to  skin  down  to 
the  nose,  cutting  through  the  cartilage  of  the  nose  close  to 


112  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

the  bone.     Both  lips  must  be  cut  away  close  to  the  bone 
and  detached  entirely  from  the  skull. 

The  skin  is  now  entirely  off  the  animal,  and  every  par- 
ticle of  flesh  adhering  to  it  should  be  thoroughly  cut  or 
scraped  off.  The  lips  are  very  thick  and  fleshy  and 
should  be  split  from  the  inside  and  the  flesh  cut  away. 
Great  care  should  be  exercised  or  you  will  cut  pieces  out 
of  the  skin,  and  especially  is  this  the  case  with  the  face 
around  the  lips  which,  by  the  way,  is  the  worst  place  to  dis- 
figure an  animal.  Do  not  cut  so  deep  that  you  will  cut  into 
the  roots  of  the  whiskers  and  cause  them  to  come  out. 

The  skin  is  now  ready  to  be  put  into  "pickle."  (See 
"Preservation  of  Skins.") 

Sever  the  skull  from  the  body,  clean  it  thoroughly  and 
draw  out  the  brain  through  the  occipital  opening  at  the 
back  of  the  skull.  This  can  be  done  with  a  long  spoon 
handle  bent  up  at  the  end,  or  wire  flattened  at  the  end,  and 
bent  in  the  same  manner. 

The  above  directions  are  only  applied  to  large  quadru- 
peds, like  those  of  the  bear,  deer,  antelope,  elk,  moose, 
mountain  sheep,  etc. 


TO    SKIN    SMALL    ANIMALS. 

The  only  difference  in  the  skinning  of  a  small  animal 
and  a  large  one  is,  that  the  skin  of  the  legs  is  not  slit  open. 
It  is  only  necessary  to  slit  the  skin  open  along  the  abdomen, 
beginning  at  the  point  midway  between  the  fore  legs.  Cut 
off  the  legs  at  the  shoulder  and  hip,  the  same  as  in  the  large 
animals,  and  skin  the  legs  by  turning  the  skin  wrong  side 
out  as  represented  in  leg  No.  2,  Fig.  2. 


H«»\V    TO    SKIN    SMALL    ANIMALS.  118 


FIG  2. 
Showing  skin  of  small  animal  turned  wrong  side  out. 

Cut  the  tail  off  at  the  base;  tie  to  the  exposed  stump  a 
strong  cord,  and  fasten  it  to  some  stationary  object  and  pull 
steadily  and  the  tail  will  easily  slip  off.  This  method  of 
skinning  the  tail  should  only  be  practiced  on  such  animals 
as  the  fox,  raccoon,  mink,  weasel,  squirrel,  and  those  still 
smaller.  A  great  many  taxidermists,  however,  recommend 
that  the  tails  of  the  larger  ones  just  mentioned  should  be 
slit  open,  and  that  the  bottom  of  the  foot  should  be  slit  open 
lengthwise,  from  the  base  of  the  middle  toe  to  the  heel. 
The  latter  operation  is  certainly  a  good  one  for  animals  from 
the  size  of  a  raccoon  and  upwards,  or  those  having  fleshy 
feet,  but  I  hardly  think  it  necessary  to  slit  the  tail  of  those 
under  this  head. 

After  the  tail  is  cut  off  continue  to  detach  the  skin  down 
to  the  fore  legs.  Skin  them  in  the  same  manner  you  did  the 
hind  legs,  and  remember  to  leave  all  the  bones  attached  to 
the  skin,  and  also  by  their  natural  ligaments,  as  seen  in  No. 
1,  Fig.  2.  Turn  the  skin  wrong  side  out  over  the  head,  cut 
the  ears  off  close  to  the  head,  using  great  care  while  skin- 


114  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

ning  over  the  eyes.  Take  out  the  skull  entirely  and  clean  it 
thoroughly,  as  directed  for  large  animals.  The  skin,  when 
cleaned,  is  ready  for  the  "pickle." 

TO    PREPARE    HEADS    FOR    MOUNTING. 

The  head  of  nearly  all  animals  make  very  desirable 
ornaments  when  stuffed  and  well  mounted  on  shields. 
Especially  is  this  the  case  if  the  animal  has  beautiful  horns. 
The  great  trouble  is  that  hunters  usually  cut  the  neck  off 
too  short.  If  a  deer,  it  should  always  be  cut  off  just  in  front 
of  the  shoulders,  so  that  when  mounted  the  taxidermist  can 
give  to  the  neck  the  graceful  curve  and  shape  which  is  , 
characteristic  of  the  animal  in  life.  Leave  fhe  skin  longest 
on  the  under  side  of  the  neck. 


FIG.   8. 

The  dotted  lines  show  where  an  animal  with  horns  must  be  slit  open  on 
the  head  in  order  to  properly  skin  it  for  mounting. 

The  necks  of  animals  without  horns  can  be  cut  off 
shorter,  and  it  is  not  necessary  to  cut  the  skin  at  the  back 
of  the  neck.  It  can  usually  be  turned  wrong  side  out  over 


PRESERVATION    OK    SKINS.  115 

the  head.  But  in  all  animals  that  have  horns,  like  deer, 
antelope,  elk,  moose  and  many  others,  you  must  follow  the 
dotted  lines  in  Fig.  3. 

PRESERVATION  OF  SKINS. 

The  best  method  to  preserve  a  skin  after  it  has  been 
taken  from  an  animal,  is  as  follows:  For  every  gallon  of 
water  take  one  pound  and  a  half  of  salt  and  one  pound  of 
alum,  boil  until  the  salt  and  alum  have  dissolved.  Put  it  in 
an  earthen  or  wooden  vessel,  and  when  cool,  the  skin  can 
be  placed  in  it.  This  is  commonly  called  by  taxidermists 
"pickle."  The  liquid  should  cover  the  skin  and  it  should 
be  moved  and  worked  about  for  a  while  so  that  the  solution 
can  penetrate  every  part  of  the  skin.  Large  skins  should 
be  moved  about  in  the  solution  every  day  for  at  least  five 
days.  Let  me  impress  sportsmen  with  the  fact  that  the 
preservation  of  the  skins  of  animals  is  of  the  highest  im- 
portance. 

The  animal,  when  killed,  should  be  skinned  at  once, 
and  the  skin  put  into  "pickle"  immediately.  In  a  warm 
climate  you  can  not  be  too  cautious  about  this  important  fact. 


116  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

CHOICE  OF  SPORTING  DOGS. 

The  question,  which  is  the  best  dog — Pointer  or  Setter 
— like  many  other  questions  connected  with  field  sports,  is 
a  difficult  one,  and  will  probably  never  be  answered  satis- 
factorily. It  is  generally  conceded  that  the  Pointer  is  best 
adapted  for  dry,  warm  climates;  the  Setter  for  the  more  cold 
or  northern. 

In  this  short  chapter,  dogs  will  be  treated  only  from  a 
practical,  common  sense  standpoint;  that  is,  in  speaking  of 
a  good  dog,  has  no  reference  to  his  breeding  or  pedigree,  nor 
his  value  for  the  stud,  but  simply  his  adaptation  to  the 
particalar  use  required. 

The  choice  between  Pointer  and  Setter  is  much  a 
matter  of  fancy;  there  are  good  and  bad  of  both  species, 
and  really  good  ones  of  either  are  very  scarce;  moderately 
good  ones  are  quite  plenty. 

The  qualifications  required  for  a  first-class  field  dog 
are,  medium  in  size,  well  physically  developed  as  to  muscle, 
lungs  and  feet,  good  hearing,  good  eyesight  and  a  keen 
scent ;  in  a  Pointer  the  coat  should  be  heavy  and  stiff,  but  not 
harsh  or  of  a  bristly  order;  in  a  Setter  the  coat  should  be 
short  and  straight,  one  that  lays  smooth,  the  hair  on  face 
and  head  quite  short,  ears,  legs  and  tails  moderately  feath- 
ered. To  judge  a  dog's  disposition  by  his  looks  is  a  very 
difficult  matter.  However,  dogs  with  a  pleasant,  intelli- 
gent countenance,  mild  expressive  eyes,  will  usually  be 
found  of  a  good  disposition. 

Reject  a  dog  that  shows  the  slightest  trace  of  gun- 
shyness.  Gun-shyness  is  usually  hereditary;  a  kind  of  nerv- 
ousness that  is  but  little  understood.  Dogs  that  are  gun-shy 
have  the  animal  propensities  strongly  developed,  and  are 
usually  inclined  to  run  about  a  great  deal — become  great 
loafers.  Don't  waste  any  time  on  a  naturally  gun-shy  dog. 


CARE   OF    DOGS.  117 

sometimes  pups  that  have  been  frightened  by  the  discharge 
of  a  gun,  will  get  over  it  and  make  good  dogs.  Therefore, 
in  selecting  a  dog,  first  ascertain  to  a  certainty  whether  he 
is  gun-shy  or  not.  Care  should  be  exercised  in  this,  as  pups 
are  sometimes  made  so  by  sudden  fright.  It  is  best  to 
select  a  pup  and  raise  him  yourself.  See  to  the  feeding  in  per- 
son; have  him  in  your  company  as  much  as  possible,  as  it  is 
by  associating  with  man  that  dogs  become  intelligent. 

However  sagacious  and  intelligent  a  dog  may  be  by  na- 
ture, he  will  only  become  a  ninny  if  chained  up  in  some 
back  shed  by  himself.  It  is  much  less  trouble  to  raise  two 
dogs  than  one,  as  they  will  be  company  for  one  another  and 
less  inclined  to  stray  off. 

CARE  OF    DOGS. 

Dogs  should  have  all  the  freedom  possible  for  their 
proper  development.  Do  not  keep  them  chained  up,  as  it  has 
a  tendancy  to  make  them  crooked  in  the  hind  legs, and  hump 
backed.  Young  dogs  require  a  large  amount  of  food,  and 
should  be  fed  about  twice  a  day  ;  table  scrap  is  good  for 
them  and  a  little  raw  meat  occasionally  will  do  them  good. 
Give  them  plenty  of  meat  bones,  as  they  are  very  fond  of 
gnawing  old  bones.  Pups  should  have  plenty  of  salt  in  their 
food  as  a  worm  preventative,  and  there  is  no  worm  medicine 
equal  to  salt.  Dogs  whose  food  is  strongly  salted  at  least 
once  a  week  will  generally  be  free  from  worms;  after  they 
are  two  years  old,  once  a  day  is  as  often  as  they  should  be 
fed,  and  at  night  is  the  best  time.  Do  not  be  afraid  to  feed 
them  meat;  as  a  rule  cooked  meat  is  best,  but  they  should 
have  occasionally  a  good  feed  of  raw  meat.  When  they  are 
to  be  hunted  hard,  they  should  be  fed  plenty  ;  table  scrap 
is  good  if  there  is  plenty  of  it.  A  dog  will  stand  almost  any 
amount  of  hard  work  if  he  is  well  fed.  Give  him  plenty  of 
meat,  and  if  constipated,  plenty  of  fat  meat  will  remedy  it, 


118  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

for  there  is  no  better  physic  for  a  dog  than  a  gorge  of  boiled 
fat  meat.  Feeding  dogs  meat  is  contrary  to  the  teachings  of 
dog  men  generally,  but  if  you  want  your  dog  to  hunt  every 
day  in  the  week  give  him  plenty  of  good  meat  in  his  feed 
and  he  will  stay  with  you  through  thick  and  thin.  During 
the  close  season  they  require  but  little  food  if  they  have 
their  liberty,  and  will  usually  pick  up  more  than  they  should 
have.  This  is  more  the  case  in  cities  than  in  the  country, 
however.  Dogs,  when  not  used  in  the  field,  are  very  apt  to 
be  overfed  and  become  lazy  and  fat.  Mind  you,  when  they 
work  hard  see  that  they  get  plenty  of  good,  strong  food, 
and  when  doing  nothing  see  that  they  get  very  little  strong 
food,  especially  if  kept  in  confinement.  If  they  run  at 
large  they  will  take  care  of  themselves,  so  far  as  food  is 
concerned,  and  ten  to  one  will  become  worthless  loafers. 

Dogs  should  have  a  clean,  warm  kennel'to  sleep  in,  and 
the  bedding  should  be  changed  often;  in  the  summer  time 
use  plenty  of  flea  powder  and  sprinkle  it  in  the  bedding. 
Carbolic  acid  is  good  to  kill  and  keep  off  fleas;  sprinkle  the 
floor  of  the  kennel  and  bedding  with  a  strong  solution  of  car- 
bolic acid,  once  a  week  and  your  dog  will  not  be  troubled 
with  fleas.  An  excellent  wash  for  dogs  is  made  of  carbolic 
acid  one  part  and  water  thirty  parts  ;  this  will  keep  them 
clear  of  fleas,  and  prevent  and  even  cure  almost  any 
kind  of  skin  disease.  Fleas  are  a  terrible  pest,  but  with 
care  they  can  be  kept  clear  of  them,  and  it  pays  to  see  care- 
fully to  it. 

DOG   TRAINING. 

There  are  quite  a  number  of  good  books  on  dog  training. 
Among  the  best, "Training  vs.  Breaking,"  by  Hamond,  is  by 
far  in  the  lead.  There  is  but  one  secret  in  dog  breaking, 
that  is,  prompt  and  implicit  obedience,  that  is  all  there  is  of  it. 
Dog  breaking  has  no  reference  to  a  dog's  hunting  qualifica- 
tions; if  a  dog  has  not  hunting  instinct  by  nature,  it  will  not 


DOG   TRAINING.  119 

pay  to  waste  any  time  on  him.  However,  it  is  very  rare  to 
find  one  of  the  pointer  or  setter  species  at  fault  in  this  par- 
ticular. Usually  in  their  eagerness  to  hunt,  they  overdo 
the  business;  and  in  this  particular  they  must  be  controlled 
if  they  are  to  become  useful.  Therefore,  it  is  of  the  utmost 
importance  that  they  are  taught  obedience  at  the  word  of 
command.  This  cannot  be  done  in  a  few  short  lessons  ;  it 
will  require  patience  and  long  perseverance,  firmness  and 
decision.  All  can  be  accomplished  sooner  by  kindness  than 
in  any  other  way.  At  times  punishment  will  be  necessary, 
and  occasionally  quite  severe,  but  never  brutal.  In  such 
cases,  always  use  a  whip;  never  kick  a  dog  or  use  a  club, 
but  keep  control  of  your  own  temper  and  you  will  soon  gain 
control  of  your  dog.  The  best  whip  for  the  purpose  is  a 
common  rawhide  riding  whip,  which  can  be  procured  at 
any  harness  store.  The  best  whip  for  the  field,  one  that 
can  be  carried  in  the  pocket,  is  a  strap  of  heavy  harness 
leather,  eighteen  or  twenty  inches  long,  cut  about  one 
inch  wide  at  the  butt  end,  and  tapering  to  the  point.  Have 
the  most  of  the  taper  in  the  last  half;  braid  a  good,  short 
thread  cracker  on  the  point.  It  is  also  well  to  have  a  good 
strong  string  fastened  to  the  butt  to  hang  the  whip  on  the 
wrist.  This  makes  a  much  better  whip  than  the  worthless 
things  kept  by  the  trade,  and  at  about  one-tenth  of  the  cost. 
In  training  your  dog,  first  get  him  to  understand  what  you 
want  him  to  do,  then  see  that  he  does  it  promptly  at  the 
word  of  command.  For  all  his  good  behavior,  praise  and 
caress  him;  when  he  does  wrong,  give  him  to  understand  by 
the  tone  of  your  voice,  he  has  displeased  you.  Dogs  are 
usually  very  apt  scholars  and  will  soon  learn  by  your  tone 
of  voice  or  look  whether  they  are  doing  right  or  wrong.  If 
a  dog  persists  in  disobeying  after  he  understands  what  is  re- 
quired, he  must  be  punished  severely,  but  not  brutally. 
All  pups  are  very  playful  by  nature;  arrange  your  training 


120  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

in  the  way  of  play,  and  you  will  in  time  get  the  very  best 
control  of  them.  Select  a  young  dog  that  suits  you,  the 
younger  the  better,  say  four  or  five  weeks  old.  Commence 
at  once,  giving  him  a  short  lesson  every  day  ;  as  soon  as  he 
has  become  reconciled  to  his  new  home,  have  him  in  your 
company  as  much  as  possible,  but  do  not  crowd  his  educa- 
tion too  fast.  Teach  him  one  thing  at  a  time..  It  takes  from 
fifteen  to  twenty  years  to  educate  one  of  the  human  species, 
or  one  third  of  the  average  length  of  life;  do  not  make  the 
mistake  of  expecting  more  of  a  dog,  a  mere  animal,  than 
of  mankind.  Be  patient,  good  tempered,  and  persever- 
ance will  accomplish  all.  Stick  to  the  text,  that  strict  obedi- 
ence at  the  word  of  command,  is  all  there  is  in  dog  training. 

As  soon  as  you  have  your  dog  under  reasonable  control 
at  home  or  in  the  yard,  always  use  the  same  command  for 
certain  actions  or  duties,  then  take  him  to  the  field;  he  will 
hunt  from  the  very  start, will  also  point  at  sight,  but  will  at 
the  same  time  have  an  almost  irresistible  desire  to  catch  the 
game  if  it  runs  or  flushes.  Now  comes  the  test  of  his  obedi- 
ence; if  an  eager,  ambitious  dog  he  will  surely  make  chase, 
his  nature  will  be  stronger  than  his  education;  in  this  case 
call  him  back  and  give  him  to  understand  that  he  has  done 
wrong.  In  the  first  lesson,  you  should  not  carry  a  gun, 
but  have  a  companion  who  is  a  good  shot  and  let  him  do  the 
shooting,  and  you  look  after  the  dog.  In  case  you  find  game 
and  the  pup  makes  a  point,  it  is  quite  important,  if  the  bird 
flushes,  to  have  it  shot  by  your  companion;  therefore,  he 
should  be  a  good  shot. 

The  dog  will  soon  learn  that  when  he  finds  and  points 
game  that  the  gun  will  bring  it  down  if  it  flushes;  that  is, 
he  will  depend  on  the  gun  to  get  the  game.  If  you  have  a 
very  ambitious  dog  it  will  require  time  to  convince  him  that 
he  cannot  catch  a  flying  bird;  your  first  effort  must  not  be 
so  much  to  teach  him  not  to  run  after  birds,  as  it  is  that  it  is 


DOG    TRAINING.  121 

not  right  to  do  so.  As  soon  as  you  get  him  to  understand 
that  it  is  wrong  to  make  chase,  then  if  he  persists,  you 
must  punish  him  for  disobedience;  if  he  still  persists  in  chas- 
ing birds  or  brakes  to  shot,  you  must  resort  to  a  check  cord. 
Get  a  strong  cord,  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet  long;  fasten  one 
.  end  to  his  collar  and  let  him  drag  it  after  him  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  game.  As  soon  as  he  makes  a  point,  get  hold  of  the 
cord  and  give  him  the  word  whoa!  or  any  word  that  suits 
you,  the  same  word  that  was  used  to  make  him  stand  in  yard 
breaking.  Always  use  the  same  word;  then  if  he  brakes  in, 
give  a  severe  jerk  with  the  cord;  give  him  to  understand, 
by  the  tone  of  your  voice,  that  it  is  wrong  to  do  so.  Do  the 
same  if  he  brakes  to  shot.  A  few  lessons  of  this  kind  will 
steady  him  to  business.  While  hunting,  if  the  dog  indicates 
the  presence  of  game  by  crouching  and  creeping,  let  him 
know  that  you  have  observed  him  by  using  some  particular 
cautionary  word,  such  as  "steady,"  or  "careful;"  always 
use  the  same  words.  You  will  find  that  it  will  put  him  on 
his  guard,  and  help  to  steady  him  very  much.  If  you  suc- 
ceed the  first  season  in  teaching  your  dog  just  what  is  re- 
quired of  him,  you  will  have  accomplished  all  or  more  than 
you  should  expect.  During  the  close  season,  at  home,  and 
on  all  occasions,  continue  the  education  of  obedience;  do  not 
neglect  it,  for  obedience  is  all  there  is  of  it.  Nature  teaches 
him  to  hunt;  practice  and  experience  will  teach  him  the 
habits  of  game,  birds,  and  the  likely  place  to  find  them. 
But  the  importance  of  obedience  must  be  taught  him  by 
yourself. 

If,  at  the  end  of  the  third  hunting  season,  you  have  suc- 
ceeded in  controlling  your  own  temper,  you  will  certainly 
have  succeeded  in  controlling  your  dog.  If  you  really  have, 
you  will  find  that  you  have  a  most  exellent  hunting  dog; 
one  that  will  more  than  repay  you  with  pleasure  for  all  the 
trouble  that  you  have  been  to  in  training  him.  You  will 


122  SPORTSMAN'S  HAND  BOOK. 

also  have  a  better  understanding  why  a  really  good  dog  is 
valued  at  from  three  to  five  hundred  dollars. 

Retrieving,  as  a  rule,  is  a  natural  talent ;  if  you  find 
your  dog  inclined  to  retrieve,  encourage  him  in  it.  In  the 
yard  breaking  it  will  be  found  quite  easy  to  teach  him  to  re- 
trieve a  ball,  or  bunch  of  rags;  always  use  the  same  word, 
such  as  "fetch,"  or  "bring."  If,  when  you  go  to  the  field, 
you  find  him  inclined. to  bring  a  bird  by  using  the  word 
"fetch,"  encourage  him  in  it;  but  do  not  use  force.  Quite 
often  dogs  will  take  to  retrieving  themselves,  especially  if 
hunted  in  company  with  dogs  that  are  good  retrievers. 

Do  not  forget  that  prompt  obedience  is  the  all  import- 
ant point,  the  kind  of  obedience  should  be  the  dogs  incli- 
nation to  please,  not  through  fear  of  punishment. 

If  properly  managed,  as  soon  as  he  learns  just  what  you 
want,  he  will  take  great  pleasure  in  obeying.  Do  not  for- 
get it. 


HORACE  PARK, 


DEALER    IN    ALL   KINDS    OF 


Breech  and  Muzzle -Loading1  Guns, 

PISTOLS,  AMMUNITION,  ETC,, 

Fishing  Tackle  and  Sportsman's  Supplies  in  General, 

Also  prepared  to  do  all   kinds   of  Repairing   and    Choke 
Boring  for  Close  Shooting.       Dents   and    Bruises   carefully 

removed  from  damaged  guns.    Satisfaction  Guaranteed. 

BICYCLE  REPAIRING  DONE  EQUAL  TO  THE  BEST  IN  .THE  COUNTRY, 

Camp  Outfits  furnished  on  short  notice. 
Correspondence  Solicited. 


Especial  attention  promptly   paid    to    all    inquiries 

concerning    Sporting    Matters,    Hunting 

Grounds,  and  Camp  Outfits. 


SALESROOM  AND  REPAIR  SHOP: 

No,  11  SOUTH  HIGH  STREET,    COLUMBUS,  O. 


ALSO,  AUTHOR  OF 

SPORTMAN'S  HAND-BOOK, 

PRICE  ONE  DOLLAR. 

And  "  AMATEUR'  BICYCLE  REPAIRING,"  a  complete  little  book  giving 
full  particulars  on  bicycle  repairing.     Price,  25  Cents. 

Either  book  sent   by  mail,   prepaid,  to    any  part  of    the 
United  States,   on  receipt  of  the  price. 


ENTERPRISE  M'F'G  CO., 


,   OHIO. 


LUMINOUS  ARTIFICIAL  FLIES. 


Though  the  largest  Trout  and  Bass  (and  other  Game  Fish) 
feed  chiefly  at  night,  it  is  seldom  the  ordinary  fly  has  been 

used,  owing  to  its  invisi- 
bility and  the  difficulty  of 
managing  it  in  the  dark- 
ness. Neither  the  fish  nor 
the  angler  could  see  the 
bait  plainly,  if  at  all,  and 
hence  it  was  comparative- 
I  ly  useless,  except  in  the 
I  twilight  or  on  light  nights 
,  Very  dark  nights  are, 
however,  the  best  for  fish- 
I  ing,  and  our  LUMINOUS 
FLIES  overcome  all  ob- 
jections and  completely  fill  the  need  that  exists.  Game  fish 
are  always  attracted  by  illumination 
of  any  kind,  and  this  quality, added  I 
to  the  fact  that  the  bait  is  a  close 
imitation  of  a  food  insect, renders  the  | 
LUMINOUS  FLY  a  most  deadly  lure. 
We  make  them  in  all  standard  pat- 
terns, and  also  to  order,  whilst  the  I 
following  selection  is  recommended  | 
as  including  the  best  Flies,  speci- 
ally adapted  for  night  fishing: 

1.  Scarlet  Ibis.  2.  Mallard. 
3.  White  Moth.  4.  Furnace  Hackle.  5.  Gray  Goose.  6. 
Caddis  Fly.  7.  Ask  Hackle.  8.  Jenny  Lind.  9.  Brown 
Hackle.  10.  Turkey  Tail.  11.  Little  Caddis.  12.  Lit- 
tle Light  Brown.  13.  The  Cardinal.  14.  Silver  Gray. 

Prire  30  tents  Each.     $3.00  Per  Dozen.     Assorted  Kinds  and  Sizes. 
These  Flies  are  also  useful  for   Day  Fishing,  especially  during    dark 
dull  weather,  when  a  light  colored  Fly  is  the  most  productive  of  sport. 
The  Fly  Department  is  in  the  charge  of  a  celebrated  English  fly   fish- 
erman and  fly  maker  of  over  25  years'  experience. 


KISHING 


Grand  Rapids  and  Indiana  Railroad, 

THE  DIRECT  ROUTE  TO 

TRAVERSE    CITY,    PETOSKEY,    MACKINAC,    MARQUETTE, 
and  Other  Delightful  Health  and  Summer  Resorts  of 

NORTHERN   MICHIGAN 

And  the  Celebrated  Trout  and    Grayling  Streams,  Beautiful 
Lakes  and  Grand  Forests  of  this  Famous  Country. 

THE  WATERS  of  Northern  Michigan  are  unsurpassed,  if  equaled, 
in  the  abundance  and  great  variety  of  fish  contained. 

BROOK  TROUT  abound  in  the  streams,  and  the  famous  AMERICAN 
GRAYLING  is  found  only  in  these  waters. 

THE  TROUT  SEASON  begins  May  i,  and  ends  September  i.  THE 
GRAYLING  SEASON  opens  June  i,  and  ends  November  i. 

BLACK  BASS,  PIKE,  PICKEREL  and  MUSKALONGUE  also  abound  in 
large  numbers  in  the  many  lakes  and  lakelets  of  this  territory. 

TAKE  YOUR  FAMILY  WITH  You.  The  scenery  of  the  North  Woods 
and  Lakes  is  very  beautiful.  The  air  is  pure,  dry  and  bracing. 

THE  CLIMATE  is  peculiarly  beneficial  to  those  suffering  with  HAY- 
FEVER  and  ASTHMATIC  AFFECTIONS. 

NEW  HOTELS,  with  all  modern  improvements,  have  been  erected,  as 
well  as  many  extensive  additions  to  the  older  ones,  .which  will  guaran- 
tee ample  accommodations  for  all. 

The  completion  of  this  line  to  Mackinaw  City,  forms  the  most  direct 
route  to  Mackinac,  St.  Ignace,  and  in  connection  with  the  Detroit, 
Mackinac  and  Marquette  R.  R.,  to  Houghton,  Hancock,  Marquette, 
Negaunee,  L'Anse,  and  all  points  in  the  Upper  Peninsula  of  Michigan. 

During  the  season  ROUND  TRIP  EXCURSION  TICKETS  WILL  BE  SOLD 
AT  Low  RATES,  and  attractive  train  facilities  offered  to  Tourists  and 
Sportsmen. 

For  Tourist's  Guide,  Time  Cards  and  Folders,  giving  full  informa- 
tion, address 

C.  ^.  LOCK:\VOOD, 

General  Passenger  Agent,  Grand  Rapids,   Michigan* 


J  A  MfAITIFY 

u  ,  ri,   IvlUri  U  ijlj  1 


TKNTS, 

A\VN!NGS, 


FLAGS. 


CATALOGUES  FREE. 


No.  26  N.  High  Street.       CoLUMBUS,  O. 


HORACE  PARK.  W.  L.  GARBER. 


PARK  &  GARBER, 

SUCCESSORS  TO  HORACE  PARK, 
IMPORTERS  AND  JOBBERS  OF 

GUNS,  REVOLVERS, 

And  GUN   IMPLEMENTS. 

Canvas  Sporting  Goods  of  all  kinds, 

Shell,  Cartridges,   and    Fixed  Ammunition, 

Rifle,   Sporting  and  Blasting  Powder, 

High     Explosives    for    Stump    and    Boulder    Blasting, 

Fuse  and  Blasting  Caps, 

LEAD  and  SHOT, 

MINERS'    SUPPLIES, 

Squibs,   Lamps,   Etc. 

GUNStylTHING  fND   BICYCLE   REPAIRING 

in  all  Branches  equal  to  any  in  the  Country. 

FISHING  TACKLE  OF  EVERY  DESCRIPTION. 

Rods,  Lines,  Reels,  Leaders, 

Artificial  Baits,   Hooks,  Swivels, 

Sinkers,  Bobbs,  and  Minnow  Seines. 

Fine  Eods  Repaired  in  No,  1  Style, 

LANCE   WOOD   AND   BOAT   RODS    MADE  TO   ORDER. 
Salesroom  arid  Shops, 

No.  11  South  High  Street,  COLUMBUS,  OHIO. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
BERKELEY 

Return  to  desk  from  which  boi 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  su 


4Feb'5:. 


LD  21-95m-ll,'50(2877sl6)476 


02316 


33313028 


